


In This Lifetime

by Britty0012



Series: What Lifetime Is This? [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alcohol, Canon-Typical Violence, Deception, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Original Character(s), Pain, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-07-25 06:07:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 50,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16191638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Britty0012/pseuds/Britty0012
Summary: Genevieve has woken up from her Vault alone. The only thing that drives her is finding her missing son, Shaun. After she has killed the man that kidnapped him, and found out where Shaun is, she joins The Brotherhood in hopes of them helping her. She tries desperately to understand Paladin Danse while keeping her walls up. After a traumatic relationship with her deceased husband, she wants nothing to do with men.Danse is married to the Brotherhood, but Genevieve has a way of getting under his skin. He punishes himself whenever he begins to think differently, but this woman will be the death of him if he sticks around too long.Many major spoilers so if you haven't played through, you are warned!





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> I have been really inspired to begin writing about Genevieve and Danse! I don't feel I'm very good at starting a story, so I hope you will bear with me for a bit until it starts to amp up!
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Trapped. Can't escape. Shaun...Nate… _

Genevieve awoke in a cold sweat that had soaked the sheets under her. She struggled to catch her breath as she clutched her chest with a shaking hand. Her vision became clearer as the painful, agonizing seconds went by. Reality was becoming clearer as she rapidly blinked her hazel eyes and wiped her long, brown hair back from her face. It was wet and had stuck itself to her face and she groaned as she hugged her knees to her chest.

The dreams were as real as the day it had happened and she couldn't escape them, no matter what she tried. She sighed as she remembered her first night in Sanctuary; the look on Preston's face when he raced on to her room shook her. She had been screaming in her sleep and woke anyone nearby. He was pale, his dark skin an ashy color, as he feared a physical attack. She had smiled sheepishly, embarrassed, as she explained it was an inner demonic attack on her psyche. She had been in the wasteland for almost a year, now. When would they stop?

_ When you find Shaun _ .

The inner voice made it's way in her mind and it made her shiver. She had leads on where to find him, but the thought was nauseating when she thought about it. He was kidnapped by The Institute and she was at a loss as to how to get him back. Nobody liked hearing it's name and it was spoken of in secrecy as if the mention of it would summon it's Synths to the very location.

Her deep breaths were interrupted as an object was tossed onto the bed and lander next to her. She looked up in time to see the power armor walking away from her. The glow of the laser gun illuminated the metal against the man's chest as he disappeared around the corner. She softly dabbed her face with the towel to find it was warm. It must have been his; stashed away in one of the many compartments of his power armor.

She had found Paladin Danse not long ago when his group was under attack. After shooting down the feral ghouls attacking them, he offered her a chance to prove herself worthy of The Brotherhood of Steel. She had heard the name before and knew they were in search of The Institute as well. 

That's why she was in this run down, abandoned hospital with Paladin Danse. He had taken her with him to fight a horde of feral ghouls that blocked the path for a safe return to his home base, The Prydwen. She wasn't a professional, like him, but she knew how to take down enemies and defend herself. He wasn't cheery company and had hardly spoken of anything, but the Brotherhood, the entire way. If he had questions about her sleeping habits, he didn't let on as he re-entered the room.

“It's nearly Dawn, Initiate,” he grumbled as he walked in. Genevieve silently rolled her eyes. She had a name and she had given it to him, but he still called her by the title he gave her. “We should pack up to move out.”

“How far out are we?” She asked as she swung her lean legs over the edge of the bed and stretched her arms above her head.

“Half a days walk,” he replied as he began packing his bag. It was worn and had seen better days, but his rough hands were gentle as they placed the objects inside.

“Alright.” She stood and brushed her fingers through her hair, slowly working out any snags she came across. Once she was done with that, she walked over to the broken dresser and retrieved her black, cowboy hat she had found in Sanctuary and set it on her head, gently. She had begun putting her armor on, beginning with her chest plate, when a low rumble came from below.

She shot a look at Paladin Danse and his eyes were focused on the ground as he held a finger up to keep her quiet. Shuffling was heard below them as she slowed her breathing to calm herself. The sound grew closer and Paladin Danse slowly drew his weapon and pointed it at the stairwell that led to where they had stayed. Genevieve slowly reached for her pistol that had been laying next to her armor and cocked it.

Paladin Danse heel toed to the door and locked eyes with her to communicate the readiness. She nodded and he quickly opened the door and raised his gun. He let out a cry of surprise when a German Shepard lunged through the door. It quickly weaved through his legs and bounded for Genevieve before leaping into her arms. She laughed as he licked her face, happily.

Dogmeat. He had followed her even when she told him to go back to the truck stop. She knelt down and scratched his ears as she cooed at him. She forgot that Paladin Danse was in the room until he cleared his throat. She quickly looked up to see the scowl he had written on his face.

“That thing could have compromised our position,” he slowly said, holding back the anger he felt burning within.

“Hey, Dogmeat is the fiercest Ally you can have!” She smiled as she continued to rub the dogs body down. His tail whipped back and forth so fast, all that was seen was a blur.

“We can't take him with.” Paladin Danse holstered his weapon, still looking irritated.

“Why not?” Genevieve stood and placed her hand on her hip as Dogmeat continued to ask for love from his new partner.

“I'm not sure if dogs are...allowed on The Prydwen.”

“We won't know unless we try. Besides, an extra pair of teeth will come in handy.”

She could see the frustration in Paladin Danse's eyes, but he reluctantly nodded. She smiled down at Dogmeat and continued to pack her things feeling the hot glare on her back.

\--------------------

Danse walked a few places ahead of Genevieve and her dog across the wasteland. It wasn't that he didn't like dogs; he had always wanted one. Danse liked precision and a plan. Bringing a dog with was not part of the plan and he hoped Elder Maxson wouldn't be too upset.

He had already sent reports ahead of his new Initiate, Genevieve. She had helped them out of a tight spot at the police station and she seemed to hold the same principals The Brotherhood did, even if it was a bit unorthodox.

Haylen had been attempting to bandage up Rhys’s injuries and the ghouls were becoming overwhelming on his own. He was worried about a group of Raiders attacking them when he saw the Molotov Cocktail fly through the air and started to burn the ghouls. Genevieve came out of nowhere and started firing her pistol at them as if she had been called to help. She took charge of the situation and that's what impressed him.

Once the fight was over, he invited her to join them. She didn't seem anxious to join, at first, but she spent time with his comrades. She spent a few hours talking with Haylen. He felt anxiety rise within as he waited for her answer. She finally hugged Haylen and came to tell him that she'd like to at least check it out. He couldn't place what her concerns were, but he assured her that it wouldn't be a waste of time.

She was quiet and reserved for most of their journey and he was glad. He wasn't good with small talk and, it appeared, she wasn't either. She avoided eye contact when she could, but she always had his back when they came across the disgusting feral ghouls that swarmed the Commonwealth.

Now, she made small talk with the dog that had shown up out of nowhere. He rolled his eyes as she answered her own questions as if the dog were talking. He trudged on, looking out onto the wasteland that was before them. It wouldn't be long and they'd make it to the checkpoint where the Vertibird was waiting for them. To get there, though, they would have to step lightly onto super mutant territory.

He stopped and turned to her when he heard their conversation stop behind him. Dogmeat was crouched down and Genevieve was on edge as she looked around. He waved her to a small, hidden spot and began to talk about their tactics.

“This is heavy in super mutants,” he explained. “We need to proceed with caution.”

“Understood,” she nodded and they made their way carefully and slowly. He didn't imagine that what they we're about to walk into would be the fight of their lives.


	2. Two

Genevieve was thrown to the side wall of the building next to them by a Deathclaw. Danse looked to see her unconscious as the super mutants and Deathclaw moved in on him. Dogmeat kept them off of him as he rushed to check on Genevieve. He was relieved to see she was coming to, as she blinked rapidly before pulling her gun, again. 

The blood running down her head was plastering her hair to her face as she ran past him and took down a few super mutants that were on the blind side of Dogmeat.

Danse rushed in and started shooting his lasers at the Deathclaw before it could take another swing at her. In doing this, he called it's attention directly to him. He continued to shoot as it backed him up against the wall that Genevieve had just been thrown against and bared it's stomach to attack.

Danse shot at the beast as many times as his trigger finger would allow and was convinced it would go down in no time.

He didn't see the giant claw come from his side and hit him directly in the head. He rolled a few times to the side until he came to a rest on his back. His power armor powered down and he felt the trickle of blood down the side of his face. His vision blurred as he watched the Deathclaw come for him. He saw long, brown hair dash between them just before unconsciousness took hold and he felt himself slipping away.

\--------------------

Genevieve took down the last super mutant with her dagger and turned to see Paladin Danse being smacked by the Deathclaw. She shouted as she ran towards them and intercepted the Deathclaw before it could reach him. She stood in front of him protectively and she stared down the beast. Dogmeat came to her side and let out a menacing growl towards it as it took a step forward.

It swung at her, but she dodged and jumped up it's arm and dug her dagger into it's belly and slid down, tearing it's flesh in the process. It's stuttered a bit before it fell down, defeated.

She caught her breath before running to Paladin Danse's side. She struggled with his helmet, trying to find the release hatches. She didn't have power armor and was unfamiliar with how it worked. She swore as she cut her fingers on the chipped metal, but she finally found the release latches. 

She threw his helmet off and called his name when she noticed his head injury. “Danse?...Danse!” With shaking hands she reached into her bag and pulled out the cloth he had given her at the hospital. She doused it in whiskey before placing it firmly on his head. She rested his head on her lap while she frantically looked around for a safe place. She had disposed of the super mutants for now, but she was sure there would be more.

She had slowed her breathing and saw an alcove not far from where she was and she knew he needed help right away. Her only problem was that she knew she couldn't carry him there in his power armor. After a brief beat of thinking, she scrambled to find a switch to release him. She knew there had to be some kind of emergency release somewhere as her fingers fumbled by his face for something.

_ Damnit...Where is it? I can't waste anymore time! _

Dogmeat whined as he gently touched his nose to Paladin Danse's side. She caught his hint and carefully turned Paladin Danse over and found the emergency switch in the back. She pressed it and the back opened so she could get to him. She turned him over so he came out of his power armor and she was able to hook her arms under his. She picked his upper body up and began dragging him to the alcove she had seem moments before.

She gently laid him down and immediately checked for a pulse and if he was breathing. Once she was satisfied she pulled her bag out with her medical equipment. His body seemed to be alright, but the wound to his head was serious. She quickly pulled out a needle and thread and began to stitch together the wound that had opened on his head and injected a Stimpak when she was done.

She sat back on her heels and stared at  him for a brief moment. His stern face was soft as he slept and she chuckled to herself before turning to Dogmeat. “Stay watch over him while I gather some supplies,” she told him as she ruffled the fur on his head. She smiled as she put her gun in its holster and treaded lightly outside. She needed wood to start a fire to make some food for them. She anticipated that they would stay the night here, or at least until Paladin Danse was feeling better. He needed the rest, even if he tried to argue with her about it.

He hadn't slept since they left the police station and it worried her. She couldn't help but wonder if he didn't trust her and that was why he refused to sleep. He named off crap about it being his duty, but she knew better.

When she came back with the wood, he was still passed out. She reached over and felt for his pulse and was relieved when she found it. She stoked a small fire and pulled some food out of her bag to cook. Dogmeat sat by her side and wagged his tail whenever she looked his way.

She looked over at Paladin Danse and saw the color returning to his face. She smiled as she knew this meant the Stimpak was doing its job. She was going to let him rest the rest of the night while she took watch with Dogmeat.

\--------------------

Danse woke with a headache that felt like an earthquake was rattling his brain. The cold floor beneath him grounded him as he slowly started to open his eyes. His vision was blurry as he tried to make out where he was. A face came into focus and he realized that Genevieve was checking his vitals. He saw a smile creep across her face when she saw his eyes open and he felt peaceful as he gazed up into hers.

“Good morning,” she said softly as she sat back. Danse quickly came to his senses and tried to sit up, but he felt a hand on his chest gently push him back down. “Easy, Paladin,” he heard her say. “Not so fast. Take it easy. You took quite the blow to the head.”

He reached his hand up to his forehead and felt the stitches she had placed. His eyes grew with realization as his eyes found her again. “You...you patched me up?” His voice was froggy and was grateful to see a water being passed to him.

“Of course. Aside from the stitches and a concussion, you'll be alright. I'd like to get you to a formal doctor, though. Make sure you're alright.”

Danse clutched his chest and panic came in as he realized he wasn't in his power armor. He looked around quickly and frantically. His eyes rested in the corner where the pieces of his power armor lay, scattered in the dirt.

Genevieve must have seen where he was looking as she quickly tried to explain. “It's pretty beat up. I couldn't carry you here in it, so I had to get you out.”

He stood quickly, ignoring her protests and rushed to it to inspect the damage. His helmet was shot, which he assumed, so he tossed it to the side. It appeared that the rest was in working condition, but may not protect him from many more attacks.

“You carried me here?” He knew how surprised he sounded but he was astonished to know that she was capable of it.

“Well, I wasn't going to leave you out there,” she chuckled.

Danse looked up to her and noticed that she had and injury to her head from being knocked into the building. Guilt raked through him in waves. He was supposed to protect her and he wasn't able to. He didn't want any more lives on his conscious and one was almost added because he had been injured.

“Allow me to see your wound,” he suddenly said and he saw the surprise on her face as she reached up to the side of her head. The blood was dried and sticky to her touch.

“It's fine. I just need to get it cleaned up.”

“I have some more supplies in my bag. I can at least make sure you don't get infected.”

She nodded hesitantly as he made his way to his worn bag and grabbed medical supplies he had taken from the police station. As he cleaned her wound he could tell that she was tense to his touch. “Is everything alright, Soldier? Does it hurt?”

“No it's not that…” He heard the catch in her voice as she spoke. “Just...please hurry…”

He sighed and continued to work. He looked down at her scraped hands and reached for her wrist, but she drew it away quickly. “Is that from my helmet?”

Her eyes darted to the corner of the alcove where it had been tossed. She nodded, but still refused to let him touch her hands.

“They will be fine. It's just a few scrapes.”

Danse was perplexed by her behavior. She had patched him up with no issues, so he didn't think she was squeamish to blood. He only wanted to repay her the best way he knew how at that moment. He knew he didn't have the softest touch, but he tried.

“You know, you can rest without getting knocked unconscious from now on,” she interrupted his thoughts and changed the subject.

“I am your superior. It's my duty to…”

“Don't feed me that line again,” she sighed as she interrupted him. “You can trust me, Paladin. I'm not a low life raider who is going to kill you in the middle of the night.”

“I never thought that,” he scowled. He reached back up to his forehead and felt the stitches that closed the deep wound. She had saved him and he couldn't figure out why. “...Thank you…” He quietly said. The only way he knew she heard him was her brief nod with a small smile before she grabbed him some food.

“Get some food in you before we go. You won't make it far without something to refuel you.”


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danse and Genevieve make it to The Prydwen.

_ Elder Maxson is an ass! _

Genevieve sat in the mess hall stirring her bowl of noodles as she stewed over their conversation. Elder Maxson spoke to her as if it was an honor to meet him, but she didn't really care. To her, he was just another pawn in the large scheme of things. What she couldn't figure out is if he'd turn into a king, or stay the lowly pawn. She had always demanded that people earn her trust in the world. Even before the bombs fell, she never trusted blindly.

That's why she was sitting by herself while others of the Brotherhood sat together and conversed. He spoke of promoting her to Knight, a step up from Initiate. She didn't care about titles, but at least she knew she was getting somewhere. He kept mentioning Paladin Danse's name and her mind kept wondering how he was doing. 

He had gone to the sick bay shortly after his own meeting with Maxson that was before hers. She stood outside the door, awkwardly, and would nod to the others who walked by her. She felt stupid. What was she even doing here? She wasn't cut out for policies and procedures, let alone rank.

She sighed as she stood and went to throw away her, nearly full, bowl of noodles when a voice stopped her.

“You won't make it far without something to refuel you.”

She turned to see Paladin Danse leaning against the doorway with a smirk across his face. She giggled as she looked back at her noodles and then back up to him. “Well, Paladin Danse, I've never seen you wear that before,” she smirked as she discreetly threw the noodles away while he was distracted, looking down at his clothes.

“What are you talking about?”

“A smile?” She raised her eyebrows and he chuckled once he realized what she was meaning. “Life must treat you differently up here?”

“It does,” he confessed. “I'm happy to report that your field work was exemplary. Dr. Cade said he couldn't have done it better, himself.”

“Really?” She felt hope blossom within her. She had been wanting a purpose since she woke up and she couldn't help but wonder if this could be it. 

“Really.” She couldn't help but see the genuine smile in his eyes when he spoke to her. “He would like to meet you. You need to have a physical, anyway so I will accompany you to the sick bay.” His serious demeanor had returned before he turned and expected her to follow.

She couldn't help but notice the looks on the faces of those they passed as they looked up to Paladin Danse. He was tall, even when he wasn't in his power armor, and his pose demanded attention as he walked. He made a brisk turn and she found themselves in the sick bay. She watched an attentive doctor dismiss the man he has been talking to and his warm smile was directed towards them.

“Dr. Cade, sir,” Paladin Danse stiffly spoke. “This is Initiate Genevieve.”

“Hello,” Cade smiled to her. “I must congratulate you on a job well done on Paladin Danse, here. Fine work.”

“Thank you, sir,” she found herself saying. Her face burned with embarrassment. Where was this etiquette coming from? Surely she hadn't changed over the course of fifteen minutes.

“Now, we need to do a physical, but first I have some questions.” He took out a clipboard and studied the paper in front of him. She felt Paladin Danse's presence behind her as she waited for Cade to continue. “First, how old are you?”

_ Shit. _ This was going to be hard to explain. She hadn't even thought about it until now. “That's... complicated…” She finally said.

“How so?”

“You see, I was 28 when I was sealed in a vault before the bombs hit...From what I'm told, that was about 200 years ago.”

“A vault dweller?” Cade looked at her with curious eyes and she heard Paladin Danse inhale sharply behind her. “May I ask which Vault?”

“I believe it was Vault 111.”

“Honestly, kid, you may be healthier than anyone else on this ship.” Cade walked over to his desk and took out his stethoscope and placed it to her chest lightly. “How long have you been out?”

“Almost a year.”

“Is that all? How have you been handling the radiation?”

“It was hard, at first, but I think I've become accustomed to it.”

Cade chuckled as he wrote on his papers. “Very interesting, indeed...Now, I will need to ask Paladin Danse to excuse himself while we continue on with the physical. I'll need you to remove your clothing and put this gown on.”

“Remove my clothing?” Panic welled within her chest at the thought of it.

“I need to inspect you to be sure you have no tumours or growths that could affect your duty here. Is that a problem, Initiate?”

She felt her hands grow clammy and sweaty as the anxiety grew. “N-no, not at all ..Please excuse me, Paladin Danse.” Danse nodded as he and Cade left the room to allow her to change.

Her hands shook as she pulled her pants down to her ankles and kicked them off. She slowly lifted her arms and pulled her shirt over her head and put the gown on that Cade had set out for her. She heard a knock and Cade came back in.

The physical was painless until he reached her back and she heard him quietly gasp. She felt his cold fingers lightly touch the scars that weren't only physical as she tensed under his touch.

“These are older than even a year...there's a lot of scar tissue here...You didn't get them in battle recently...Are they painful?” He quietly asked.

“No.” She quickly answered. She wanted this part to be done with so she quickly pulled the gown back up over her shoulders.

Cade wheeled his chair around to face her and she saw the sadness and pity in his eyes. It was that very look that she hated. “I do offer counseling, if it is needed.” He didn't say anymore and he didn't need to. She nodded her response and he wrote on his chart a bit more before he excused himself to let her change back into her clothes. The physical was over and she could go to her quarters now.

\--------------------

Danse sat at his desk in his room going over paperwork for Genevieve. He also needed to fill out a repair request for his power armor  he had gotten it back to The Prydwen, but it was malfunctioning most of the time. It would be some time before he could wear it again.

He was filling out the information as he played with his holotags around his neck but stopped when a knock came to his door. Cade entered and told him that Genevieve was clear for duty but Danse could tell something was bothering him.

“What is it? What's wrong?” He asked him and Cade sighed.

“Upon her physical, I noticed large scars on her back. They are old scars; from before the war...She didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't push her but I do ask you keep an eye on her. I have my suspicions but…”

“What are they?” Danse hadn't realized his jaw had dropped until he swallowed to speak. He had a suspicion as well, but he didn't dare think about it.

“I do not wish to gossip, Paladin.”

“Of course.” Danse quickly got his bearings back and stood to see Cade out. “Are you worried about her emotional state?”

“Not at the moment. If anything changes, please let  me know.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“She has been released to her quarters unless you wish otherwise. She's your charge.”

“Thank you, Cade. I'll go see her shortly.”

When Cade shut the door behind him, Danse sighed as he rubbed his face. This was a lot for him to take in for himself. She was a Vault Dweller. He hadn't met one before, but most didn't survive more than a few days outside and she had survived for months. The only thing he could think of was that she must have something driving her. 

Danse generally didn't like to get involved with the personal lives of his charges, but she was a unique case. He had always wanted to know about the world before the war, but he never had a reliable source.

He finished signing his paperwork before looking up at the clock. It was late and she needed rest so he decided against going to her tonight. Morning would come and he would be able to speak with her then. He clicked his desk lamp off and pulled his shirt over his head before settling into his bed. Thoughts swarmed his mind, but he drifted to sleep within moments. It was good to be back in his own bed.

\--------------------

Hot, angry tears streamed down Genevieve's face as she felt the hot water of the shower run down her back. She had gone all this time without thinking about it, and now the scars burned as if she has just received them. She pounded on the steel wall of her shower stall in an attempt to get out her frustration. It was late and most of the Prydwen was already asleep. This was the perfect time for her to get out her frustration of her life. She stopped when she heard the door open and another shower turned on. Her moment of release was over as she wiped her face of her tears. Even after being frozen for two hundred years, her past still haunted her and it pissed her off more than anything.

She turned and, gingerly, cleaned the spot where her wound was. The sting of the water made her wince, but a shower was just what she needed after the past few days. The bed that was waiting for her had clean sheets and she was given clean clothes to wear which was good because hers were drenched in Paladin Danse's blood. She had tossed everything, but her hat, directly into the garbage before entering the shower.

Her thoughts drifted to him and how he was completely different once they boarded the Prydwen. He seemed to lighten up and she was thankful for that. She began seeing him as a person tonight, not just an uptight soldier. He was probably already in bed, she figured as she shut the water off and wrapped the towel around her. She briefly locked eyes with another woman as she exited her own shower before going to change into her clean shorts and t-shirt for bed.

The clean sheets were welcoming as she slid into them. She feared drifting to sleep and having the nightmares return, but she knew she was safe aboard the Prydwen. She didn't need to worry about raiders, feral ghouls, or super mutants attacking while she slept. She sighed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things should start to get a bit more interesting from here on out! I will try and post when I cant!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated, as always! :)


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danse Finds out what drives Genevieve.

Genevieve was woken up, abruptly, by the movement of the others in her open quarters. She slowly blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the lights that shined down on her. She sat up and rubbed her head as she watched the others around her eye her warily.

She sighed as she stood and made her bed. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and she was met with a woman with wild, red, curly hair, blue eyes, and freckles peppered her features. She recognized her as the woman that had been in the showers the previous night.

“You're new, right?” She asked with a smile.

“Uh...yeah,” Genevieve was startled, to say the least. Had she heard her breakdown last night? Genevieve prayed she hadn't. She didn't want to explain anything to anyone just yet.

“Come get breakfast with me!” Her smile was contagious as she grabbed Genevieve's hand and led her up the stairs. “I'm Carmen, by the way! I've been here for only a month, but I know I already love it! I'm sure you will too!” She led Genevieve up to the cafeteria and had her sit down at a table. “Wait here! I'll get us some breakfast!” With a smile, she skipped up to the counter.

Genevieve wasn't prepared for such cheerfulness upon just waking up. She needed a moment to wake up before being bombarded with a chipper girl with red hair. What she wouldn't give for a cup of…

“Coffee?”

She looked up to see Carmen had gotten her a cup of hot coffee with her breakfast. “I think you and I just might become fast friends,” Genevieve smiled as she took the cup in her hands and inhaled the scent. It wasn't Foldger's, but any coffee was better than none.

“You looked like you needed it!” Carmen smiled as she sat down with her breakfast and juice. “I can always tell who isn't a morning person.”

“Well, your detective skills are on point,” Genevieve giggled as she took a bite of her toast. The food was much better than she had expected. She found it hard to find good food in the Commonwealth on her travels. Most of it tasted of dirt and chemicals when she was in a pinch and needed food.

“So where are you from?” Carmen asked with a mouthful of food and a smile still on her face.

“I've been around.” Genevieve wasn't going to spout her whole life story to someone she had just met.

“Who's your supervisor? Mine is Paladin Jeffrey. He's kind of a grumpy man, but I'm working on him.”

“Uh-Paladin Danse.”

“Paladin Danse?” She nearly spit juice from her nose at the mention of his name. “Lucky!”

“How so?”

“He's one of the most respected people on this ship! He's a hero! And, not to mention, he's not bad on the eyes.” Genevieve couldn't help but laugh as Carmen batted her eyelashes fiercely. “He doesn't take on many new charges so you're more fortunate than you know!”

“Why is that?” Carmen had piqued her interest. She assumed that Paladin Danse had plenty of charges beneath him.

“I'm not sure...He doesn't talk to anyone but Elder Maxson much.”

This, Genevieve believed. She remembered how quiet he was as they had ventured together. “He is quiet. He didn't say much when we traveled here.”

“Don't feel bad. He's like that with everyone, from what I've heard.”

Genevieve looked up as she saw him enter the cafeteria. His eyes found her before he quickly looked away and went to retrieve his own breakfast. He was already dressed and she reddened at the thought that she was still in her pajamas. Carmen hadn't allowed her to get dressed before dragging her up here. She watched him make his way over to her, looking anywhere but her as he spoke.

“When you are finished, we have things to go over, Initiate,” he said. She saw the red creeping on to his cheeks as he spoke.

“Of course,” she replied. “I'll go get dressed and meet with you.”

“Very well. Initiate.” He nodded to Carmen before he went and sat with, what Genevieve guessed, were other Paladin's.

“Oh he's dreamy…” Carmen sighed as she stared at him. “I can't believe he just came over here to talk to you!”

“Well, he needed to inform me of what I was doing today,” Genevieve shrugged.

Genevieve started cleaning her dishes onto her tray when Carmen placed her hand on Genevieve's arm. “I heard you last night, ya know?”

Fear and anxiety began to cripple Genevieve. “Y-you did?”

“I'm not going to pry, but if you need someone to talk to come find me. I'm told I'm a good listener.”

Genevieve saw the sincerity in Carmen's eyes when she looked up. “Thank you, Carmen.” Genevieve nodded before quickly cleaning up the rest of her dishes and leaving to get dressed before meeting with Paladin Danse.

\--------------------

Danse was relieved to see that Genevieve had changed into her military fatigues when she met up with him after breakfast. Seeing her in her shorts made him blush and it made him uncomfortable. He had seen plenty of attractive women aboard the Prydwen, but none had made him blush as she had done by simply not being fully dressed. As he introduced her to the crew on the ship, he noticed she was more rigid than she had been when they were traveling. Once they had made their last stop, he asked her to follow him as she led him out into the flight deck in the front of the ship.

He watched as she placed her hands on the railing and looked out into the wasteland they called home. Her eyes were filled with curiosity as she was able to see for miles and a small smile crept across his face.

“I come here when I need a moment to myself,” he finally told her. She turned to him with questions in her eyes and he continued to speak as he leaned against the railing. “All of this can be overwhelming, at times. I can only imagine what you're going through; waking up after the war and all.” She was silent as she turned back towards the Commonwealth and he could see the sadness in her eyes. “Anyway, I'm not good at this, but if you need to talk I'm here for you, soldier.”

He was about to leave her alone and head back inside when he heard her take a deep, shaky breath before she started talking. “My son was kidnapped by The Institute.” He was immediately at attention to her words. The Institute had been well known for kidnapping people and sending robotic Synths in their place to infiltrate the Commonwealth.

Danse came up beside her and leaned his forearms on the railing. His holotags gently clanged against the metal when he leaned forward. “What happened?”

“When the bombs began to fall, my son, husband, and I ran to the vaults. It was supposed to be our safe place. Nate, my husband, held onto Shaun; he was only 6 months old. He wouldn't let me carry him; he insisted that he had him. We made it to our pods and they cryogenically froze us until it was safe again.” She never looked at Danse as she spoke, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. He felt her sadness and guilt in her words.

“I remember feeling pain as I was being unfrozen. Voices spoke about Shaun as I saw them open his and Nate's pod. I thought it was over and we were being released.” A tear fell from her cheek as she took another deep breath; her hair fell over her shoulders and covered her face. “They shot Nate, killing him instantly, and ripped Shaun from his arms. I banged on the glass until I had no strength as I watched them take him. They refroze me and I, somehow, woke up some time after that. That's how I left the vault.”

“How do you know The Institute has your son?”

“I was able to track down a detective in Diamond City. He helped me find the man that I saw take my son...He told me where he was, and that was in the Institute…”

“Where is this man, now?” Danse heard how quiet his voice was and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the anger in her eyes as she looked at him.

“He's dead. After I killed him, I met someone who gave me the schematics to build a transporter, the only way in and out of the Institute.”

Danse knew he should be running to Elder Maxson, pulling her behind him, to share this information, but his boots were firmly planted in place as he continued to stare at the woman before him.

_ This is what drives her _ .

Tentatively, he placed his hand on her back in an attempt to reassure her, but quickly pulled it back when he saw panic flare in her eyes. He had forgotten about the scars Cade had told him about and he didn't want her to know he  knew about them “I'm sorry about you son.” He told her and he saw the panic start to fade. “And I'm sorry about your husband. They didn't deserve that.”

He watched anger seep into her features as her face reddened. Had he said something wrong? Isn't that what you told someone when they lose people dear to them?

“Shaun didn't deserve what he got and I will find him...Nate deserved all the shit he got…” She growled the last part before she turned and left Danse behind.


	5. Four

Her boots hit the ground hard as she jumped from the Vertibird and onto the island that contained Fort Strong. The excitement from the rest of her crew was contagious when they flew in. She even saw a wide smile on Danse's face when they flew into the air.

Her instructions were simple. Kill any super mutant that she saw, and accompany Danse into the fort as back up. She couldn't believe the power that came with the Brotherhood as they took down the super mutants. Danse called out for her to follow him as they ran towards the building.

“Stay alert,” he told her as they entered the building. “More than likely, this place isn't empty.”

She nodded as she followed behind him. His power armor clunked down the Halls of the abandoned fort and she looked down at her clothes. She was nowhere near to being as armored up as him. If this was a test, they had better damn well compensate her in the end. Although, she wasn't sure how keen she was on wearing an army tank as her protection.

_ That cannot be comfortable. _

She and Danse reached the lower level of the fort with minimal issues. They were able to clear out the mutants with ease and they even found some good loot off the bodies. She had to laugh at the look of disgust Danse had given her as she rummaged the pockets of the dead mutants. He nodded his approval when she revealed some bottle caps and Stimpaks.

“Look at this place,” he murmured as he gazed over the dead bodies of the mutants she had taken out. “You must hate super mutants as much as I do!”

“Why do you hate them so much?” She was curious. Nobody liked the mutants, but he seemed to have a specific hatred for them.

“They are vile creatures that shouldn't exist. They are almost as bad as the Synths.”

“The Synths?”

“The Institute created them to blend in with society. Technology should never go that far.” She nodded her response but her thoughts went back to Nick Valentine. He was a synth and he didn't seem to be a bad person, or machine. He helped her mind Kellogg and she would always consider him a friend. The thought of Danse meeting him made her shudder; she didn't know what his reaction would be.

When they reached the lower level, Danse gave her orders to start up the generator and he'd be close behind. That was the plan until they were ambushed by feral ghouls. She shot down as many as she could as he struggled against them.

“The generator!” He called out as he threw one off of him. “Get in and start it NOW!”

She ran down the hallway and fumbled with buttons until she heard the sound of energy running through out the building. She smiled until she saw flames shoot down from above Danse. The flames licked his power armor with power as she cried out his name from the safety of her glass box. She tried running to him but he held out his hand and grunted a firm “Stay!”

She watched in horror as he struggled against the heat. She watched the ghouls disappear into piles of Ash and Danse fell to his knees. She ran to the door but he leaned against it so she couldn't come to him. She cried out this name as she pounded on the doors. She felt the heat through the meal as she pounded. 

She felt a panic attack come on as she had flashbacks of her pounding against the metal door of her pod as they took Shaun. Tears began to stream down her face as she screamed for Danse to open the door and come in for safety.

She was relieved when the flames stopped and she ran out to him in a panic when he slumped over from the door. “Oh my God! Danse!” She ran to his side and went to touch his shoulder, but it burned her hand upon contact. She cried out in pain and tossed herself back onto the floor of the pit in agony. She suddenly felt cool water on her hand as Danse poured it generously on to her burn. He panted, ripped off his helmet, and sat back down as she sat up. “Are you ok?” She stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“Yes...My power armor took the brunt of the damage,” he took deep breaths to fill his lungs with air. “Your hand...is it…?”

“It'll be fine,” she reassured. “It's minor...Did you know that would happen?”

“Affirmative.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “Why the fuck didn't you tell me?”

“Watch your tone!”

“No! You should have told me! I would have prepared for this! You can't leave me in the dark like this, Danse!” He stared at her for a moment after her outburst. He probably viewed her as disrespectful but she didn't care. That had scared her more than anything else and the tears were still flowing from her eyes in small trickles. “I'm tired of losing people!”

“You think you're the only one who's lost people?” His demeanor changed as he slowly stood. “Had I told you, you would have not followed orders or tried to find another way. This was the best way!”

“How do you know I would have done any of those things!” She stood tall and walked up to him.

“I'm good at reading people,” he grumbled before he turned away from her. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “We need to get back. Elder Maxson will be waiting for us and you need your hand looked at.”

“As you need to be looked at, too.” She insisted. She could tell he was about to argue when he turned and faced her, but he sighed and nodded before they made their way past the debris that was left.

\--------------------

The silence was deafening once they came back to the Prydwen. Danse ushered her up to meet up with Maxson and she felt the hatred flow through her as he told her she would need to wait on finding her son. 

_ There are more important things. _

Like Hell were there more important things. Shaun was the most important thing in her world. She shot Danse a glare as she stalked past him and slammed the door shut behind her. She didn't care how it looked when she yelled in Maxson's face after he promoted her to Knight. She had heard Danse inhale sharply as she called him a prick and stormed out.

Her boots were heavy on the metal floors as she stormed down the hall. She faintly heard her name being called out to her but she ignored it. She was leaving. She was going to leave and find Shaun without their help.

An arm reached onto her shoulder and pulled her arm to the side and out onto the flight deck. She was surprised to see that it was Danse. His face was flushed from chasing her down the hall and she could tell he wasn't happy with her.

“Don't ever talk to Elder Maxson like that!” He shouted over the propellers. “Do you have any idea how you just made me look? I vouched for you!”

“I have to find Shaun!” She shouted back. She was struggling to keep back the angry tears that threatened to escape her eyelids. “That's the only reason I came here!”

“You can't just leave! He will send a search party and bring you back!” He cried out as he took a step closer. “You are part of the Brotherhood, now, whether you like it or not!”

“Why did you even bring me? Surely, there are others you'd rather bring that are better than me! Why bother?”

“Because I saw potential in you!”

“To be used as a pawn?”

“You're not a pawn!”

“Don't yell at me!”

The silence that followed was loud. She watched him relax as he rubbed the back of his neck. He barked out a short 'wait here' before he walked past her. She let out a cry of frustration as she peered over the edge of the Prydwen. She was going to leave whether Danse liked it or not. She didn't owe him anything.

Immediately the guilt started to flow through her. He didn't deserve to be spoken to that way and she knew it. He was probably going to reprimand her in some way for it when he came back. She couldn't hold her tears of frustration in any longer and she let them fall over the railing into the abyss below.

_ I'm so stupid...My big mouth always gets me in trouble… _

Her thoughts were interrupted by the slamming of the deck door. She turned as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She expected to see anger in Danse's eyes, but that's not what she saw. She saw concern as he watched her wipe her tears away.

“Are you alright?” He asked, quietly, as he took a few steps forward. 

“I'm fine...I just…” Genevieve folded her arms across her chest and hugged herself. “I didn't mean to snap at you...I-i wanted to tell you that before I was reprimanded.”

“Why would I do that?” He took another step forward, warily, with worry written on his face and she took a defensive step back.

“You didn't deserve to be yelled at...I took my frustrations out on you and it's not your fault. I just...I need to find Shaun...He's my baby boy, even if he isn't a baby anymore…”

“Can I come with you?” She shot her eyes to his and stared at him in shock. That was the last thing she expected him to say. “Let me help you.” He walked up to her and stood a foot away and she felt the railing behind her, preventing her from stepping back any more. She heard his voice shake as he spoke to her. “I want to help you find him. Elder Maxson has approved me to accompany you...If you wish, that is.”

Before she knew what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She hadn't been this happy since Nick Valentine had told her the name of Shaun's kidnapper. She felt him go rigid and she quickly let go, apologising.

“It's alright, soldier,” he spoke quietly and avoided eye contact. “I'm just not used to...uh…”

“I understand. I got carried away...When do we leave?” She changed the subject to avoid anymore awkwardness.

“Let's get you suited in your own power armor and we can leave. A Vertibird will take us to any place of your choosing,” he told her as he walked to the door and opened it for her.

The thought of wearing the power armor made her sick to her stomach. “Hey, Danse?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” She swore she had seen a smile on his face as she walked past him, back into the Prydwen, but she brushed it aside as she headed to Proctor Ingram for her own power armor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated!


	6. Six

Genevieve smiled as she saw the Red Rocket Truck stop come into view. She shouted over the roar of the engines to the Lancer to land in the open space near the truck stop while trying to contain the excitement in her voice.

_ I'm home. _

The Vertibird landed and she jumped out of the craft in her power armor, nearly falling off balance. She didn't know if she would ever get used to wearing this hunk of metal, but she told Danse she would give it a try.

Dogmeat barked happily as he ran his dog house and pulled out a stuffed teddy bear to play with. Danse dismissed the Lancer and the Vertibird flew up into the sky as they watched it disappear. She saw the confusion on Danse's face as he asked why they had been taken to a truck stop and not a fort.

“This is my home,” she explained as she beckoned for him to follow her. “I needed to pick up a few things before we continued on.” She opened the garage door to exit her power armor and saw Danse's face light up when he saw her work station. She led him through the front of the truck stop and started rummaging through some containers she had behind the counter.

She notice Danse crane his neck to see the bed she had set up in the back room and she chuckled. “It's nothing fancy, but I want to build a house here someday.”

“Why here? There are plenty of houses around here you could fix up,” he frowned in confusion as he asked her this.

“It's... complicated…”

“Alright, then…” He wandered back to her workstation and she heard him start tinkering on her work benches while she moved freely around her area. She opened her Footlocker at the foot over her bed and inhaled sharply. She kept the things that were most important to her in here, and there wasn't much. A few of Shaun's toys were stashed in there, along with a few other belongings. She reached in with a trembling hand and pulled out the wedding rings she had.

She wasn't sure what she should do with them. Part of her wanted to throw them as far away from her as possible. The other part wanted to keep them close as a reminder of the happy memories she once had. She quickly dropped them back in the chest and shut the lid. She took a few deep breaths before she was interrupted by Danse shouting out in the front of the truck stop.

She ran out to him, ready for a fight, but immediately holstered her weapon when she saw what the big commotion was about. Danse had hold of an armor piece to his power armor and was struggling with the dog that held onto the other end tightly. She couldn't help but laugh out loud as Dogmeat let go and Danse flew backwards and landed in the dust.

The look he gave her was priceless as he stood up quickly and dusted himself off. “That dog has been tormenting me since we got here.”

“Oh, Dogmeat wouldn't so such a thing. Would you?” She knelt down to the dog and laughed as he licked her face. “He's just trying to play with you.”

“He could have ruined all my work.” Genevieve stepped up behind Danse as he inspected the helmet he had been working on. She looked over his tall shoulder to see the scratch marks from Dogmeat's teeth on the handle.

Danse looked over his shoulder to see she was standing close to him, to see the helmet. He cleared his throat and stepped away, pointing out the modifications he had made. “They should help it stay together better.”

“A few scratches won't harm it. I'll tell Dogmeat to leave your stuff alone.”

“Please?”

Genevieve laughed out loud to the seriousness in his voice as he raised his eyebrows. He laugh was cut short when she heard footsteps approaching them quickly. Danse pulled his weapon and stepped in front of her, protectively, and aimed it at a settler that was running down the road towards them.

“General!” She shouted and Genevieve lowered Danse's gun with her hand. “Preston saw the Vertibird land. Sanctuary is under attack! We need help!”

“Stay here, its safe!” She told the  settler before turning to Danse. “Come on!” She called out as she took off into a sprint towards Sanctuary Hills. She anticipated having to explain everything to Danse soon, but they had never been attacked before and she needed to get there as soon as she could.

She saw Preston just over the bridge and he explained that Gunners had entered Sanctuary and were trying to steal their supplies.

“Have Sturges get all the women and children to Mama Murphy's house!” She ordered him. “Danse, come with me.” Preston nodded and turned to follow her orders. She felt Danse's heavy boots hit the ground behind her as she ran farther into town. The Gunners were running out of a house, firing at them as they tried to make off with food and medical supplies.

“Take 'em down!” She shouted as she and Danse open fired on them. Preston came up behind them to join in the fight as they took down a few Gunners with ease.

Genevieve ran ahead of them in pursuit of those that had ran away from them. She switched guns and took aim to shoot from a distance. She watched the blood spray and all of them fall with one shot each. She ran up to them to see one was still alive. She stepped up to him and stomped her boot on his chest.

“Fucking Bitch,” he coughed. “We thought you had left them.”

“I wouldn't leave them to the likes of you,” she growled as she slit his throat with her hunting knife. He coughed up blood before laying still; his eyes staring up into the night sky.

She wiped the blood from her brow and turned to see Danse glaring at her. She was saved by Preston coming up to them stating that they had eliminated all threats to the town. “They did a number to our defenses, however,” he explained. “The turretts will need to be looked at.”

“I'll get on that,” she sighed. “Bring back as many of the supplies we can and store them back in the house. I'll find Sturges and assess the situation.”

“Yes, General.”

Preston turned on his heel and made his way back to town while Genevieve continued to feel Danse's glare.

“Can you explain some of this to me?” He asked, the anger radiating off of him.

“I will. Just...let me get the defense situation figured out and we will talk. Can you help bring the supplies back?”

Danse nodded and left without another word. She rubbed her face and groaned when she realized that she had just smeared blood all over her face. It was going to be a long night and her plans had been set back.

Now, she just needed to find Sturges to fix the turretts and come up with something to tell Danse when she was done. Leaving out the Minutemen was probably a good way to make him mad, which was the last thing she wanted. Hopefully he would understand and not leave because of it.

\--------------------

Danse fumed as he carried the supplies to a run down, blue house in Sanctuary. He was trying to figure out if she had deliberately left all of this out, or if it had genuinely slipped her mind. Although, an entire town full of people was hard to forget.

Some other settler's helped carry supplies back and they gave him a wary eye. Preston, however, was cheerful as he did this. Danse had met Preston one other time, outside the police station, and they had started arguing until Genevieve had stepped in to settle them down. Never once were the Minutemen brought up. Danse assumed that Preston was leaning on her to keep himself safe. Or that Preston was with Genevieve and was upset she would be spending time with another man. Clearly, that was not the case, and Danse felt a sense of relief. He didn't want any more drama in his life than he already had.

“So, you and The General getting along ok?” Preston asked him as they serve the last of the supplies in the house.

“The Knight and I make a good team,” Danse said bitterly. The Brotherhood came before everything else.

“Well, she wears many hats it seems.”

Danse pictured the black cowboy hat she always wore a suppressed a smile. The last thing he needed was to be friendly with Preston. He leaned against the doorway, hoping she would come back soon to save him from conversing with Preston any longer.

“She's a strong woman,” Preston stated as he started sorting through the supplies. “She's been through a lot. I'm sure you are aware of this.”

“I am.” Danse clipped his response. 

“When I first saw her in her Vault Tech suit I about fell over,” Preston chuckled. “She looked so confused when she wandered into Sanctuary and I don't blame her. After seeing her own town turned to shambles would make anyone a little crazy.”

“Her own town?” Danse was immediately at attention as he gazed out the window.

“Oh yeah. This was her house. Her son's crib is still in the back bedroom from before the bombs hit. She was a mess, but we got her set up in here as best we could.”

“Why is it storing all of this, now, if this was her house?”

“She insisted on it. It's one of the biggest in the town and we were running low on space as it was. She insisted we used it to store what we needed to keep everyone alive, here, and she set up her own space at the old truck stop just down the road.”

Without a word, Danse slowly made his way down the hallway and saw the crib Preston had spoken of. It was blue and had a mobile that still floated above it. He glanced around the room and saw a rocking chair and some toys in the corner.

_ This was her home _ …

He sat down in the rocking chair and glanced through the beams of the broken house to see a bed in the next room. He assumed that it must have been her bedroom with her husband and he rubbed his eyes in frustration. He had never thought that he would be sitting here and now he understood why she kept this town safe.

_ “She's a strong woman.”  _ Preston's words echoed in his mind and he didn't doubt that. He didn't know anyone who would want to return to a past like this. Even if they did, they'd be driven mad before eventually killing themselves.

A sound at the doorway made him look up. Genevieve was there, leaning against the door frame staring at the baby crib. Danse stood and looked at her conflicted face. He couldn't read the expression on her face and he longed to know what she was thinking about. 

“I suppose I have some explaining to do, huh?” She quietly said as her eyes finally met his. He tried to read them once again, and he saw anguish in them as they gazed into his.


	7. Seven

Genevieve insisted that they went somewhere else to talk. She didn't want to stare at the walls of her past while she spoke of it to Danse. It made her feel uncomfortable for many reasons and she has grown to trust him enough to be able to tell him about some of it.  _ Only what was relevant _ is what she told herself as she led him to a different house down the street.

She opened the door and led him in before she turned the lights on. He sat down on a worn chair and waited for her to sit. The anger had left his eyes from before. Now, questions and concern were in them as she sat across from him.

“So, now you know that this was my home town,” she sighed.

“Were you hiding all this from me?” Danse asked quickly. She knew that was his main concern and she didn't blame him. She couldn't explain why, but the pained look on his face made her feel empty and hollow. They had been traveling together for a while, now, and he deserved to know.

“I didn't mean to hide it...It was more of an omission…” She slowly spoke. “I wasn't in a good place when I came across Preston and the Minutemen. I'd probably be dead if they hadn't given me a purpose.”

“You have a purpose, with the Brotherhood.”

“I didn't even know the Brotherhood existed then. All I knew was that I was alone.” She stood and began to pace around the room as she fidgeted with her hands and ran her fingers through her long hair. “When I found my home in the condition that it's in, I crumbled. Preston found me curled onto the floor crying. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Aside from the obvious damage, the house was just as I had left it the day the bombs fell.”

She looked to Danse to see he was attentively listening. She was relieved he wasn't upset with her as she continued to tell him about her troubles with alcohol when she first arrived in Sanctuary. Most nights she had sat by herself and drank until she couldn't cope anymore and cried herself to sleep.

“Preston told me he needed help. I had no idea why he asked me, but he did. I helped clean up Sanctuary and set up a few more settlements throughout the Commonwealth. It kept me away from the alcohol and it kept me busy. I was pointed towards Diamond City for answers and that's when I knew I needed to find Shaun…” She grew silent as she gazed towards the door. “You can stay here tonight. I'll head back to the truck stop. Meet me there in the morning.”

She started to walk towards the door when Danse gently grabbed her arm. “I'm not letting you go by yourself,” he quickly said.

“Danse, I'm past all of that. It's sweet, but you don't need to worry about me.” She smiled up at him and felt his hand fall away from her arm.

“I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about raiders and Gunner's coming for you now that they know you're back.”

“We killed them all, Danse.”

“You don't know that...I'd just...I'd feel better knowing I was around if anything happened.”

Genevieve sighed with a weary smile. “Alright. I only have one bed, though, so you may need to bring a mattress or something. No offense, but I'm not so keen on sharing a small bed.” She chuckled at the blush that had crept up his face. “I have plenty of defense around the truck stop so we can sleep easy tonight. Come on, let's go.”

\--------------------

The sunlight slowly woke Danse from his restless sleep. Genevieve had told him not to worry about being attacked in the night, but he was still on edge. Most of the building was open and he was paranoid all night that something would happen. Dogmeat had stayed outside 'on guard’, as Genevieve had put it, but Danse heard him snoring throughout the night.

He looked to see the door to Genevieve's room was still closed and assumed that she must still be sleeping. After last night, he decided to leave her be and step outside to get his work out done.

For as long as he had been part of the Brotherhood, he worked out every morning. He jogged around the truck stop a few laps before he began his push ups.

A piercing cry cut through the air and he jolted up as he realized it was coming from Genevieve's room. He jumped over the tables of the truck stop and raced to her door, fearing an attack. He opened the door to see her struggling in her sleep.

He was relieved to see that no one had snuck in to attack her, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do for her. She thrashed in her sleep and he watched the pain twist her face as she cried out. The only thing he could think of to do, was to wake her up.

He knelt next to her bed and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders as he called out to her. “Knight ..Knight! Soldier!” She started fighting his hands in her sleep so he became more forceful and she awoke with a start, punched Danse, and started screaming. 

“Don't touch me!” She shrieked and pushed him away. “Don't hurt me, again! Please, God! Not again…” She pushed herself as far back as she could until she hit the wall hard. 

Danse stood back against the other wall and rubbed his lower jaw, where she had struck him. His attention turned back to her as she sat on the corner of her bed crying. She looked up to him with terror in her eyes and he started to move closer to her with his hands up.

“Hey, easy,” he spoke calmly and quietly. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“D-Danse?” He heard her voice quiver as she began to come back to reality.

“It's me. Don't be afraid.” He gently sat on the edge of her bed and she continued to sniffle on the corner of her bed. 

He sat in the silence with her for a few moments just trying to be there for her. He didn't know what was happening, but he didn't want to pry. He had his own past she wouldn't want her pushing him if he didn't want it.

“Did I hurt you?” She finally spoke; her voice was quiet and meek.

“No,” he chuckled. “I'm alright. Are you?”

“I haven't had a dream that bad in a long time...They've been bad but this one seemed so real…” For the first time that morning, she lifted her eyes to his. “Thank you for, uhm…”

“It's not a problem.” He smiled and held up his hand to stop her. “I want you to know that if something is bothering you, I'm here for you. I promise not to judge.”

“Thank you, Danse,” she breathed before scooting a little closer to him so she could rest her hand on his arm. “I have few friends in this new world and I'm glad to have you as one.”

“I'm glad to have you as a friend, as well.” Danse didn't have many people he would consider friends, either. He had brothers and sisters as comrades, but he never did anything with them outside of the Brotherhood. Genevieve was one of the few he had come to trust. 

He gently moved off of her bed and she removed her hand. He stepped out to give her privacy to change as he walked back outside and took a few deep breaths. He placed his hands on top of his head and stretched his sides in the morning sun. He didn't know where they needed to go to find her son, and a way into the Institute, but he hoped she had a plan.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danse is faced with one of his greatest fears as Genevieve takes him to a settlement in need of her help.

“We are doing what?”

Genevieve sighed at the agitation in Danse's voice as they walked through the ruins. Preston had stopped them just before they headed off to inform her that one of her settlements was in need of help right away. She knew that Danse wasn't going to like it.

“There is a settlement that needs my help,” she explained again. “It's on the way, so don't worry.”

“What kind of help could they need? You already set up a home for them.”

“Super mutants are attacking them at night,” she sighed.

“Now that's a mission I can get behind!” He smiled. “Those vile beings are unnatural and ruthless.”

“That's why we are stopping there, first. I couldn't think of anyone better to take them out with.” She smiled and winked at him. She held back a laugh as he began to turn bright red at her gesture. She knew Danse would take down the mutants, but she worried about bringing him to the settlement. She knew his feelings on feral ghouls, but she didn't know how he felt about domesticated ones. She believed them to be humans who got the short end of the stick and they could be nice, or mean, just like a human.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Danse asked, redirecting her thoughts.

“Of course,” she smiled as she stopped and turned to him. “What's on your mind?”

“I was wondering what you thought of Scribe Haylen.”

She stared at him for a moment; she wasn't expecting this at all. “I guess I haven't worked with her enough to make a good, or bad, recommendation.”

“No, that's not what I meant…” She looked on as he seemed to struggle with the thoughts in his mind. 

“This isn't like you, Danse. Is everything alright?”

“It's just...some time ago, one of her friends in the Brotherhood was gravely injured on one of our missions. She tried to save him, but I knew he was slipping away and in agonizing pain as he lay dying…” He paused and briefly looked up to her. He was conflicted about something; she could tell by the worried creases by his furrowed eyebrows. “I ordered her to put him down and end his misery.”

“Did she do it?”

“She followed orders, yes, but she took it harder than I expected. She came to me some time after and began crying and she ran to me...I wasn't sure what to do...I've never needed to console anyone like that before…”

“She did the right thing…” Genevieve sighed.

“That's not what I'm asking...Did I push her too far? Should I have done it myself?”

Genevieve stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Don't blame yourself for her being human, Danse. It's hard to lose people, let alone knowing they are beyond help. It was very sweet of you to be there for her.”

“I just know she's a strong person. I know I'm blunt and can be rash. I'm also not the best at talking about things. I think I pushed her just as I push you... because I believe in you and what you're doing.”

“Danse…”

“We should keep moving,” he cut her off quickly and cleared his throat. “Thank you for allowing me to speak freely.”

“You can talk to me whenever you need to, Danse.” Genevieve saw a small smile come to his eyes as he looked at her. She felt the world begin to shift and she couldn't explain it. “The settlement is just a little ways away. We will be there soon.” She continued walking, but couldn't shake what he had said to her. 

_ He believes in me? _

\--------------------

Danse stood, rigid, and his gun drawn. He heard Genevieve frantically call out for him to lower his weapon, but he didn't listen. The first ghoul he saw caused his fight or flight reflexes kick in and he wasn't a runner.

He scanned the area and felt his chest tighten when he realized that the entire settlement was nothing but ghouls. He saw female ghouls usher smaller ghouls into the shack that was set up. One ghoul took a few steps closer to him with his hands up in surrender, but Danse held his finger firm on the trigger of his weapon as he told  _ it _ to not take another step or he'd shoot.

His body shook as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Genevieve's soft voice finally came into focus as she called his name. “Look at me, Danse…” He heard her say. He didn't want to take his eyes off the ghouls, for fear they would use that moment to attack. 

“Danse…” She slowly stepped in front of him, and his gun, and looked into his eyes. He began to shake harder as she lifted her hands to the sides of his face. Her touch was warm and soft as she gazed into his eyes. “I know this is hard for you, but please...trust me…”

He finally broke his glare from the ghouls and looked directly in her eyes. He had never realized that they had every speck of color in them, until now. Her gaze was soft and gentle as she urged him to lower his weapon. He was stiff in his movements, but he slowly lowered his weapon; not taking his eyes off of her.

She lowered her hands from his face and turned to the ghoul that had been coming closer to him. “Give us a moment, please,” she told it. It nodded and slowly backed his way into the settlement.

Danse turned quickly and stormed away from the steel fences to get away as fast as he could. He heard her footsteps quickly following behind him and she called his name.

“Why are we here?” He growled at her as he turned towards her. She jumped at his tone and softened her own features.

“Danse, these are not feral ghouls,” she tried to explain. “They were human, once, and they are just trying to survive. They were kicked out of Diamond City.”

“With damn good cause!” Danse felt his blood flow through his ears as he continued to fume. She knew this was a ghoul settlement and didn't tell him. “Do you know why they were kicked out?” He waited for a response but she didn't answer and she kept her cool composure as he shouted. “One of them turned feral and  _ killed _ someone! Do you understand that?”

“I do, Danse.”

“Then why the  _ fuck _ are we here to protect them?” He stood before her, taking deep breaths in and out of his nose.

“If you are that uncomfortable with this, I can do it alone.” He heard her voice go quiet as she spoke. 

“Like hell am I going to let you be alone with those...those... _ monsters _ !”

“Then you need to keep your cool because they haven't done anything to you.” Her voice was sharp as she spoke. “Unless one threatens you, you leave the gun holstered. You got it?”

Danse cried out in frustration as he grabbed the back of his neck. This went against everything he believed in and he couldn't believe she was willing to help them. He met her fierce gaze and sighed out of frustration.  _ Damn stubborn woman. _

“Fine…” Danse reluctantly said. “I'm only coming because I don't trust them. I can't see you get hurt.” Her warm smile returned to her face as she patted him on the shoulder before turning towards the ghouls. Danse's stomach turned as he grew closer to them. 

_ She will be the death of me… _

\--------------------

Genevieve gave Wiseman a polite nod as he opened the door to their home for her and Danse. She felt Danse's uneasiness about everything, but she was determined to help these ghouls. If she happened to help him see them as people, too, that would be a plus.

Danse sat next to her as Wiseman explained their situation and she felt the tension in his muscles as his arm brushed hers. He refused to look at Wiseman as he told her about the super mutants coming at night. They would scare away caravans and threaten their women and children.

“The children are afraid to play outside,” he explained and Genevieve's heart broke for them.

“Don't worry, Wiseman. We will take care of the mutants for you,” she told him with a soft smile. 

“You have no idea how much this means to us! We will prepare you a feast upon your return!” The smile beamed from his face as he jumped up to hug her.

She was about to accept the hug when Danse stood in front of her quickly. He stared down at the ghoul and she watched his face fall.

“You must forgive my friend, Danse,” she began as she maneuvered herself around him, brushing her backside across him as she moved. She heard him inhale sharply before she stood in front of him so her back was flush with his chest. “He has never been around non-feral ghouls before. This is new territory for him and o ask you be patient with him.”

Wiseman studied Danse for a moment before a crooked smile formed. “Any friend of yours is a friend of ours. He will be treated as so.”

“Thank you, Wiseman.” Genevieve nodded her goodbyes to him and waited for him to leave before she turned to Danse.

She didn't realize how close she was to him until she turned around to find his face was inches from hers. She could have stood on her tip toes and touched his nose with hers. She slowly lifted her eyes to his and, for the first time since they got here, she was able to read the expression on his face; fear. She stared into his eyes for a few moment before she came to her senses; she shook her head as she blinked and she noticed he seemed to snap back into reality as well.

“We should go,” she spoke quietly, not trusting her voice to be still when she spoke. “It's not far from here.”

\--------------------

Wiseman stocked them with med-x and Stimpaks for the journey. Genevieve tried to decline, respectfully, because it was all they had left. They insisted they took it because if they defeated the mutants, they wouldn't need as many. She thanked them and made her way up the hill to meet Danse as he waited for her.

She nodded to him as she stared the medicine away, and started walking in the direction they had pointed her to. Danse was quiet as he kept up pace with her. She hoped that he was alright in doing this.

She slowly crept around a corner and motioned for him to do the same. Genevieve heard the mutants calling out to one another just ahead of them.

“There doesn't seem to be many,” she whispered to him. “I'll take out the two in the shelter if you can take care of the hounds.”

Danse was still silent, but he nodded that he agreed with her plan. She took out Righteous Athority and took aim for the biggest mutant she saw in the shelter. With one quick shot, he was wounded and on the ground calling for the others to help him.

Danse ran ahead of her as she took aim for the next mutant that was running to his friends aid. She smirked at this thought; she didn't know if they considered other mutants friends or not.

She shot at the other mutant and he went down with only the one shot. She heard the hounds being released, but she didn't worry when she heard Dogmeat and Danse on pursuit of them.

She aimed for the first mutant and placed her finger on the trigger. Her last shot had hit his leg and he was having trouble getting up to walk. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The red beam soaked through the air and hit him in the head. She smiled as he collapsed onto the ground in a puddle of blood.

She heard her name being called out and she turned to see Danse running towards her. “Was that it?” He asked her as he caught his breath.

“I think so,” she smiled. “Let's double check to make sure we got them all.”

She slowly made her way forward, gun still raised. Danse and Dogmeat ventured around her to cover more ground. A sudden sound made Danse turn towards a locked chest in the shelter.

Genevieve made quick work of the lock and gasped when she opened it. A small ghoul girl sat at the bottom of the chest, shaking with terror. Genevieve held out her hand and tried to calm her. “It's ok. We are here to help.”

The girl looked from her to Danse before she started to stand up. Genevieve held her arms out and picked up the young girl. “What's your name, sweetie?”

“Ava,” the girl quietly said.

“Where do you live, Ava?”

“I don't know…” The little girl mumbled as she fumbled with her fingers.

“Where are your parents?”

“They...they…” Genevieve saw the fear and sorrow in her eyes and she held her tight.

“Let's get you somewhere safe…”

Genevieve carried the little girl past Danse without looking at him, or saying a word. All she wanted to do was calm this little girl from her fits of crying.

The mutants had probably killed her parents and kept her for a play toy that they would use later. The thought made Genevieve shudder as she trudged back up the hill towards the settlement where she knew they would take Ava into their home with no problems. She would be safe from now on.


	9. Nine

The ghouls had said they would have a feast for Danse and Genevieve if they had succeeded, but they threw a party. Danse sat in the background as he watched the ghouls tell Genevieve how much they appreciated her act of eliminating the mutants. He would only give a polite nod when they tried to thank him. He was finding it harder to stay away from them when they would seek him out. Wiseman tried having a conversation with him and Danse found it hard to respond to him. His guilt was starting to eat away at him as he watched the female ghouls fawn over the little ghoul girl they had brought back. It was becoming harder for him to see them as just creatures, and more like living beings.

His attention was brought to the corner of their pool where they began to play music and light a bon fire. Wiseman went over to Genevieve, who was tasting the food they had made, and invited her to dance. She smiled and tried to refuse; Danse saw her shaking her head no and laughing as he pulled her out by the fire. He spun her around and she laughed as she started to dance on her toes.

The way the fire illuminated her was breathtaking. Her long hair flowed with her as she spun and her smile was bright as it reached her eyes. Danse couldn't help but smile a little as she looked his way and stopped dancing.

He saw the mischievous smile form across her face as she started to walk towards him. She held her hands out to him and asked him to dance with her.

“Oh, I don't dance,” he chuckled as he attempted to wave her away. The way she looked at him told him that he wasn't going to get away with not celebrating with her. “I have no rhythm. I can't dance to fast music.”

She smiled and turned quickly to run over to the ghouls playing the music and spoke in one of their ears. The ghoul smiled and nodded as they shifted the music style to be slower.

Danse watched as she skipped towards him and held out her hands. When he tried to refuse her, she grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. He knew that protesting was pointless once she had him on his feet and she rested his hand on her waist while she took the other. He felt her small body tremble by his touch, and her eyes were unsure, but she smiled confidently at him as she took a deep breath. Danse froze in terror as he looked down at her bright smile.

She slowly started to move to the music with him and he kept apologising for misstepping. He was so focused on his feet, that he didn't notice her hand reaching under his chin and lifting it. “You'll never get it if you focus too much,” she told him. “You need to  _ feel _ it.”

“Feel what?” Danse asked.

“Everything. Feel the celebration. The moon. The stars. Me. You... Everything,” she whispered the last part as he started to sway smoother with her. “Now you're getting it!”

“Can you remind me why we are doing this?”

“We need to celebrate any victories possible. Otherwise, we will lose hope. Even the small victories need to be celebrated.”

He watched the fire flicker in her eyes and he smiled. It was one of the first few times that he had genuinely smiled in his life. She made him happier than he wanted to admit and it scared him.

He looked back down at her to see she had bit her lip and was looking at him and he felt his heart begin to race. Suddenly, the music started to speed up and she smiled and tried to spin Danse in a loop, but she failed as he tripped over his feet. She caught him, laughing, as she continued to dance into the night. Tonight, Danse has nothing to worry about except for the aching sensation he felt in the pit of his stomach as her touch left him and went danced away.

\--------------------

Genevieve saw the terror in Danse's eyes and she couldn't help but chucked behind her hadn't she had strategically placed in front of her mouth. She knew he wanted her to help him, but he needed to learn things on his own.

He looked down at the little ghoul girl, Ava, as he held his breath while she hugged his legs. His arms were held out at his sides while he tried to figure out what to do. Genevieve sighed and decided to save him as she called Ava over to her and hugged her.

“Now, you be good, ok?” Genevieve smiled at her as she was knelt down before her.

“I will,” Ava smiled, shyly.

“Hey, I'm sure that, if you're good, Mr. Glass will even make a Giddy-Up Buttercup just for you.” Genevieve winked at her and the girl threw her as around Genevieve's neck again.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“We will be sure to visit.”

“Even Danse?” The girl turned to him with hope in her eyes.

“Even Danse,” Genevieve laughed as she stood up and walked over to him. “Are you ready?”

“Affirmative,” he replied and they turned to make their way South to Goodneighbor. If they kept up the pace, they could be there by nightfall. Genevieve glanced back once and waved to the residents of The Slog one last time before they made it over the hill and into the woods.

“The woods aren't exactly the safest place to travel,” Danse said as he lifted a tree branch from above so he could walk under it.

“We took up more time there than I wanted,” Genevieve sighed. “My friend, Nick, is waiting for me in Goodneighbor and I hope he hasn't gotten impatient and left.”

“You still haven't exactly explained to me what is in Goodneighbor that we are after.”

“Nick has a friend, a doctor, that can read memories from people's brains. Remember Kellogg? The man I told you about?”

“Who kidnapped your son? Wait…” Danse stopped walking and Genevieve turned to see a horrified expression on his face. “Isn't he dead? Don't tell me you have his brain stashed in your bag!”

Genevieve couldn't help but bust out laughing. Danse's horrified expression changed to confused as she clutched her side as she laughed. She felt tears forming in her eyes as she took deep breaths to calm herself. 

“Of course not!” She chuckled and reached for her bag. “When I killed him, I found these brain implants.” She pulled them out and showed them to Danse. “It's a long shot, but she might be able to use these.”

Relief crossed Danse's face as he sighed. “Alright, that makes more sense now.”

“You thought I had a human brain in my bag…” She continued to chuckle about it as they continued their way through the woods. Every once in a while she couldn't help but look back at him and laugh at the memory. He always glared back as she walked ahead, leading the way to Goodneighbor.

She wasn't fond of Goodneighbor, but she had good friends there. First time she came was because she was looking for work. She was in desperate need of caps and that's when she met Bobbi No-Nose. She set her up with a, less than desirable, job to break into Diamond City's stronghold.

Genevieve wasn't comfortable with breaking in, but she was desperate for the caps. She followed Bobbi, and her friend Mel, into the underground tunneling system they had constructed. Genevieve wasn't familiar with the layout of the Commonwealth, at the time, so it wasn't until Mel pulled her aside and expressed his concerns that she started to get suspicious.

Sure enough, they weren't headed for the stronghold at all. They blew their way into the mayor of Goodneighbor's storage facility and got caught by his right hand girl, Farenheight. Genevieve felt so deceived, but she convinced Bobbi to leave before things got ugly. She didn't know the mayor of Goodneighbor, but she didn't want to make enemies.

That's when she met Hancock. She was afraid he'd shoot her for doing what she did, but rewarded her for convincing Bobbi to leave and invited her to stay for drinks. She was hesitant, as Hancock inhaled Jet like it was oxygen, but she stayed and became good friends with the ghoul.

Now, she just hoped he was too busy to know she was coming to town. Saving random ghouls was one thing, but Hancock wouldn't let her live it down if Danse pulled a gun on him. She knew Danse was aware of the ghouls that lived in Goodneighbor, so she kept her friendship with Hancock a secret; she hoped it would stay that way. She didn't want the tension she had felt when they came up to The Slog with Danse again.

The pain she felt snapped her attention back to reality as she clutched her side. She peered down at her hand and saw fresh blood was coming from her right flank.

“Genevieve!” Danse called out to her as he raised his gun, shooting at the assailant.

He knees buckled underneath her and she hit the ground hard as she struggled to get Righteous Athority out. The gun was so big that she wasn't able to maneuver it from the ground, so she resorted to Kellogg's Pistol she had taken from his body.

Dogmeat lunged onto a Gunner and kept him still; giving Danse a chance to shoot him until all that was left was a pile of Ash. Genevieve heard Danse's angry calls as he hunted down the other Gunner's while she began to feel light-headed.

The world began to spin, and her wound seared with pain as she saw Danse scrambling over to her. She saw he was calling out her name, but she couldn't hear him over the slow beating of her heart in her ears.

Danse gently picked her up and cradled her close to his chest as he started to run in a different direction. Her vision was blurry, but she kept herself conscious long enough to see an abandoned house up the hill where Danse was carrying her.

“Danse…” She was able to say his name, though she didn't know how loud she was or if he could hear her. She felt him tighten his grip on her, so she could only assume she must've made some kind of noise. She felt Danse lay her down on a bed and come up to her face.

It was frustrating her that she couldn't hear him, but knew he was talking to her. She had never seen him so worries before and it made her nervous. The wound must've been bad for him to be frantic. She saw his hand come up to graze her cheek, but she couldn't feel anything. She longed to be able to feel the warmth of his hand against her skin rather than the pain emanating from her side. She wasn't sure if she'd make it through this one and she could only think of two people. A tear streamed down the side of her cheek as she tried to speak. “I'm sorry, Shaun...I'm sorry, Danse…” Everything went black after seeing Danse's face one last time; his face calmed her, even if it did look hopeless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm glad you're enjoying the story of Genevieve and Danse! I have a good chunk of this story written, I just re-write and edit a bit before I decide to post stuff. I've loved writing it! Keep the comments and kudos coming! It motivates me to continue!


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Genevieve is unconscious she has nightmares of her life before while Danse struggles to save her life.

“...I'm sorry, Danse…” He quickly came up to her face as she spoke and cried out her name as her eyes turned glossy.

Since he had gotten her to the house, he had been trying to stop the bleeding with rags and Stimpaks. He knew he needed to get the bullets out for the Stimpak to work properly, but he needed her bleeding to slow before she lost too much blood to come back from.

“Damnit! Genevieve!” He called to her as he rested his hand on her forehead. She didn't respond to him and her eyes were frozen open. “Don't you dare die on me!” He held his ear to her chest and was relieved to hear that her heart was still beating. It was faint, but he could hear it along with feeling her chest rise and fall, shallowly.

He dragged his bag over to him and pulled out a flashlight and tweezers. Without hesitating, he ripped open her shirt to reveal the wounds that had been inflicted. Putting the flashlight between his teeth, he was able to see the three bullet wounds that had entered her abdomen. He stuck the tweezers in the first hole to try and find the bullet. It came out with ease and he quickly moved to the next. 

He kept talking to her as he worked. It helped him keep his head at the task at hand, rather than the fact that she may be dead soon. No, he wouldn't think about it. He couldn't. He was going to save her no matter what. He was not able to even think about what he would do if he lost her, now.

Her blood spurted out as he moved the tweezers around until he hit something hard. He gently shifted his tweezers until he was able to clamp hold of it and pull it out. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and heard a quiet whine come from behind him.

“It's alright, Boy,” he reassured Dogmeat. “I'm going to save her.”

He fished around the hole for the bullet, but was unable to find it. It had gone deeper than he had anticipated, and wondered if it went all the way through. He gently lifted her side to see her back and was relieved to see an exit wound. His eyes trailed her back to see the scars that Cade had mentioned. 

He quickly laid her back down and injected another two Stimpaks near the wounds to help with the healing. He rested his head on her chest and his eyes widened in horror when he realized that her heart wasn't beating, nor was she breathing. 

He quickly started compressions. Tears began to stream down his face as he called out her name. He plugged her nose, tilted her chin, and gave her a big breath of air before continuing compressions.

_ This won't be like Cutler, damnit...She needs to come back...Come back to me, Genevieve. Please, come back to me! _

Danse pleaded with her in his mind, and spoken words, as he continued his breaths and compressions. Finally, he heard her cough gently. He smiled and pulled her to her side as she took deep, unconscious breaths. When she seemed to be breathing easier, he laid her on her back and rested his forehead on the bed beside her.

“Thank you…” He said, quietly, to no one in particular. He looked up to her and saw how peaceful she looked as she lay there sleeping. She wasn't having the nightmares that she had been having every night.

He stepped outside to take a few deep breaths of fresh air of his own. Danse was always good at keeping his cool in intense situations and he nearly lost it when she stopped breathing. He rested his hands on top of his head and walked around a little bit, still feeling the quivering in his own legs from the adrenaline rush.

When he re-entered the house, he quickly checked for a pulse again. She was still with him and he couldn't help but smile as a tear ran down his cheek. Had he really been that scared? She was just his charge, why would he be so scared to lose her?

He had lost comrades in battle before, and it had affected him deeply, but this was different. He sighed as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her bed. He would need to monitor her all night and inject more Stimpaks as needed. He gingerly touched her wounds and was pleased to see that the bleeding had finally stopped. He sat back in his chair, determined to stay awake all night to be sure she was going to be alright 

\--------------------

_ “If you keep this up, you'll have more than a black eye to worry about!” He shouted at her as Genevieve cowered in the corner. She had cried so many tears that she couldn't cry anymore. _

_ “Nate...the baby…” She tried to plead with him as she rested her hand on her enlarged, pregnant stomach. She felt her baby move from within with sharp, jerky movements. _

_ “Don't tell me what to do!” Nate shouted again as he threw the empty whiskey bottle against the wall, shattering glass throughout the living room. He cried out in anger before punching a hole in the wall. “Clean this fuckin place up...It's a mess…” he walked out the door, slamming it behind him. _

_ Genevieve slowly stood in the corner she had been cowering in. She shook as she felt the baby calm within her stomach; taking deep breaths helped this process. _

_ She was careful for avoid the broken glass with her bare feet as she made her way to the kitchen for a broom. She knew she had to get out of the situation, somehow. Her life, and her baby's, depended on it. She stood to empty the dust pan and caught her reflection in the mirror across the room. She walked over to it and touched the swollen, purple wound that covered her eye. She wouldn't be allowed out of the house until it healed, she knew that. The very thought made her start to cry. _

_ After throwing the glass away, she went and sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her stomach lovingly. “Don't worry, Shaun...Someday we will get out of this mess...I can't promise that I'll ever trust a man, again...But I'll try so you can have a daddy...a real daddy in your life…” She wiped her eyes and lay down, dreading when Nate would come back home. _

\--------------------

Her eyelids felt like they were being weighed down with lead as she attempted to open them. Her head pounded as she slowly moved it to the side and peeked her eyes open.

The sunlight assaulted her pupils as she attempted to adjust. Her hand went onto her stomach and she shot her eyes open when she felt skin under her fingertips. He glanced down to see her wounds had been dressed and empty Stimpak syringes littered the floor next to her bed. Her eyes found Danse, next.

He had fallen asleep, his head resting on the bed near her arm, his hand resting on her arm as he slept soundly. The last thing she remembered was seeing him before her world went black. He had carried her here after she had been shot.

His hand twitched in his sleep and she tensed under his warm touch. It had been a long time since a man touched her in a gentle way, except for when she made him dance with her. 

She had been terrified, but she wanted him to celebrate the little victories with her. He had been so tense when they arrived at The Slog and she wanted him to be able to relax and enjoy the moment. She hadn't expected his touch to be so gentle when he held her hip. She knew he probably felt her trembling, but he never asked her why. She appreciated that; she had never told anyone about her past. Whenever she had a visible injury, she just told everyone that she was sick and couldn't have visitors, or come out.

She had contemplated telling Danse when he had woken her from a nightmare and she punched him. He never asked, so she never told him and that was enough of a reason for her.

She shifted her gaze to his hair and she lifted her hand to gently run her fingers through it. It was soft and the smile that crept across his face made her feel warm inside. She had come to care about Danse, deeply, and it terrified her. She still kept her wall up, but she felt it crumbling as he murmured her name in his sleep.

She chuckled and ruffled his hair. He woke up suddenly, blinking rapidly in the sunlight and rubbing his head. His brown eyes found hers and he jumped to his feet and began to fuss over her until she chuckled and told him to stop.

“I'm sore, but I'm feeling alright,” she said, then gazed down at her bra and bare stomach. “I take it, you patched me up?”

“I did! I mean...I had to...your wounds were...I'm sorry…” He sputtered, clearly unsure of what to say.

“Danse, it's fine,” she chuckled and found his fingers with hers. “ _ Thank you.”  _

His eyes looked down at their hands before looking up at hers, wide with uncertainty. She let go and struggled to sit up before she placed a hand on her shoulder. “You need to rest today.”

“Danse, I'm fine.”

“You are not fine. You almost died!”

“It's just a few bullet wounds. I've endured worse.”

“Genevieve…” She stopped at stared at him from the seriousness in his voice. “I revived you...Y-you died…” His voice cracked as he spoke and realization struck her.

“I...what?”

“After I got the bullets out and found the exit wound of the third, you stopped breathing. I did compressions and breaths to bring you back…” She hadn't realized how serious her wounds had been. She stared at Danse, unable to speak. “So, please...Take it easy for a bit, ok?”

“Ok.” She nodded as he stood.

“I'd also like a professional doctor to see you once we get to Goodneighbor.”

“Good thing the person we are going to see is a doctor, then, huh?”

“Yeah, good thing.” Danse made his way by the door, Dogmeat was outside wagging his tail. “I'm going to get something cooked to eat for us. Hollar if you need anything.”

“I will, Danse...Thank you.” 

Danse smiled before making his way outside, letting Dogmeat in at the same time. “Oh, Dogmeat,” she sighed as she scratched behind his ears. “What am I going to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many fics I've read always depicted Nate as a loving husband so I decided to go a different direction. I like to be different!
> 
> As always, Kudos and Comments are appreciated!


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve continues to push Danse past his comfort zone.

Danse stayed by Genevieve's side as they neared Goodneighbor. She was stubborn at first, but she finally agreed to lean on him as they walked through the gates. He could tell that she felt uneasy, but she wasn't quivering as she normally had when he touched her. Maybe the fact she was wearing one of his shirts made her feel more comfortable. Her shirt, after all, had been ruined during the incident. The thought of him ripping her shirt open still made him blush with embarrassment. He hadn’t been thinking of her modesty, at the time. He figured to offer her one of his was a weak form of an apology.

He knew Goodneighbor was a place full of ghouls, but he still wasn't prepared when he saw the lot of them shouting up at the balcony at someone.

“We need to get to The Memory Den,” Genevieve spoke quickly. 

Danse furrowed his brow at the panic in her voice. “What's wrong?”

“We just...that's where Nick is waiting for me to meet Dr. Amari.”

“Wait a minute…” Danse turned in the direction that a loud voice was coming from to find that it was coming from the ghoul on the balcony. “My favorite lady is here!”

“Oh God…” Genevieve groaned. “I'm using this moment to apologise in advance.”

Danse was confused until he saw a ghoul in a red trench coat making his way over to them. Danse could tell by his posture that he was high and he tightened his grip on Genevieve. He loosened when she patted his hand with hers and told him it was alright, she knew this ghoul.

“Gennie!” Hancock cried out when he saw her. “It's about time you came to visit me!”

“Hey, Hancock,” she smiled at him as she tried to stand herself up straighter.

Danse shot daggers at Hancock as she let go of him. He needed to get her to a doctor, not a ghoul high on Jet and Mentats.

“What happened to ya? You look rough, girl.”

“Just some gunshot wounds. Danse, here, fixed me up.”

“Well well well…” Hancock eyed Danse from head to toe and he felt uncomfortable. “He looks a bit uptight, does he need a hit?”

“No, I don't need a hit…” Danse snapped at Hancock, who began to laugh.

“Ah, this one will be fun. Well, Gennie, you know any friend of yours is welcome anytime. There will be a room reserved for you two at the hotel.”

“She needs a doctor.”

“Danse, it's ok,” Genevieve tried to calm him. “I'm actually supposed to meet Nick at The Memory Den. Do you know if he's still there?”

“Last I knew,” Hancock spoke with a cigarette between his teeth and lit it. “You've kept him waiting quite a while.”

“I know, we ran into some issues I needed to attend to before we got here.”

“Either way, glad you're here!” Hancock leaned in to hug Genevieve and Danse felt every muscle in his body tense as he withstood the urge to rip him away from her. “Come see me when you're done, or before you leave at least.”

“Will do, Hancock.”

“Bring your boy toy with, too. I wanna get to know this one.” Hancock chuckled to himself as he turned and walked away.

“Sorry,” Genevieve whispered and leaned against Danse again once Hancock was out of sight.

“Well, thank you for warning me in advance,” Danse grumbled as they made their way up to The Memory Den. “Some warning sooner would be nice next time.” Danse opened the door and was met with Nick Valentine and he nearly had a heart attack as the synth greeted Genevieve.

“I was beginning to wonder if you would show,” Nick told her as he lightly hugged her.

“I'm sorry, Nick. We got held up,” she told Nick as she gave Danse an apologetic look. He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes in exhaustion. He gave her a crisp nod before they started following Nick towards the basement. 

Danse glanced around the room full of monitors and beds. He barely heard what the synth was saying to Dr. Amari, but her attention had turned to Genevieve as she gave a polite smile.

“Before anything happens, she had wounds that need to be looked at,” Danse spoke sternly and the doctor nodded.

“Of course,” she said as she led Genevieve to a table and had her like down. Genevieve unbuttoned the shirt Danse had given her, and Dr. Amari inspected her wounds. “These have been care for marvelously. Whoever did this took good care of you, dear.” Dr. Amari turned to her cabinets and took a syringes out of one. “I'm going to administer this just to be sure an infection doesn't start, ok?” Genevieve nodded and winced when the needle perforated her skin.

Danse chuckled to himself. Here was this strong woman who had just cheated death, and she winced at the prick of a needle. He was relieved to know her wounds had been treated well, and properly. He had been worried about infection, but he didn't have much to prevent one.

He eyed Nick warily as he explained why they had come. Dr. Amari explained that she had only done it on a fresh, human brain before and wasn't sure if the implant Genevieve had retrieved would work.

“Wait…” Dr. Amari paused, deep in thought. “Nick, what generation of synth are you?”

“Me?” Nick asked. “I'm the first. I’m the prototype. That's why I still look like a hunk of wires and metal.”

“I may be able to use you as a conduit for the memories.”

“What does that mean?” Genevieve asked.

“If Nick allows it, I can put the implant in his head and draw the memories into your head.”

“Wait, you want to connect them together?” Danse asked, suddenly.

“Figuratively speaking, yes.”

“Absolutely not!” Danse walked to Genevieve with eyes wide. He wouldn't allow this to happen.

“Danse, it's alright,” Genevieve spoke as she touched his arm gently.

“No, it's not! What if something happens? What if he brainwashes you?”

“Hey, buddy,” Nick stood up. “I would do no such thing.”

“Says a synth built by The Institute!” Danse growled at the machine that matched his demeanor.

“Danse, you'll stay, right?” He heard Genevieve ask.

“What?”

“Will you stay during the procedure?”

“Of course I will!”

“Then you can make sure nothing happens. I need to do this, Danse...We need to get into The Institute and I need to find Shaun.”

Danse stared down at her, nostrils flaring as he took deep, angry breaths. Genevieve was pushing him past his limits and he assumed she knew this. There was something about her that made him relent.

“Against my better judgement, I won't interfere,” he spoke between his teeth. “But if you try anything, Synth, I will blow your screws out! Do you understand me?”

“Whatever, slick,” Nick grumbled.

“Nick, you really don't have to do this for me,” Genevieve stood. “I can find another way.”

“Nonsense, kid. I told you I would help you find your boy and that's what I aim to do.”

“Now, if you just sit over here,” Dr. Amari said as she led Genevieve over to a chair with a helmet that she picked up and put on Genevieve's head after she tossed Danse her hat. “Once I get Mr. Valentine set up, we will get started. You will be living these memories of Kellogg as if you are a ghost. You will be watching it all happen. Your friend and I will be able to watch through this monitor over here.” Dr. Amari showed Danse a chair. He sat down, never taking his eyes off Genevieve.

Dr. Amari began the process and Danse watched the monitor with glances over to make sure Genevieve was still alright. He watched Genevieve maneuver through Kellogg's memories from when he was a child, to when he was an adult.

The memory from the vault came into focus and he saw Genevieve's body tense. Genevieve walked around the vault as Kellogg and an Institute employee spoke about the infant and the back up. She stood off to the side as they opened Nate and Shaun's pod. This was the first time Danse had ever seen Nate. He had sandy, blonde hair with a goatee and piercing blue eyes. He held onto the baby tight as he watched as he was shot in the head and the baby was ripped from his arms. He watched Genevieve go to her pod to see herself pounding on the glass and screaming Shaun's name.

“I-I apologize for having you relive that,” Dr. Amari spoke as she channeled into a new memory.

Danse glanced over to see Genevieve was still tense as she continued her memory journey. He wasn't sure what he would have done if he were in her place. He couldn't believe how strong she was after losing her husband and child. His mind raced back to something she had said when they were on board the Prydwen.

_ “Shaun didn't deserve what he got and I will find him...Nate got all the shit he deserved.” _

What had she meant by that? He hadn't thought much about it at the time as she was just his charge and he didn't care to know. He wondered what would make her talk about Nate that way.

His thoughts floated away as Dr. Amari wrapped up the process and went to take the helmet off Genevieve's head. Genevieve blinked rapidly as ran her fingers through her messy hair. Danse brought her hat to her and placed it on her head, gently. His eyes were locked on her to be sure she would be alright. He did not trust this experiment and wouldn't believe she was alright until they left. She gave him a brisk nod and he accepted it, for now.

\--------------------

“You have got to be fucking with me, Hancock…” Genevieve mumbled as she opened the door to the room he reserved for Danse and her. She didn't even know they had a 'honeymoon’ suite in the rundown hotel in Goodneighbor.

She saw Danse's jaw drop when he entered the room and looked around. There was one giant bed with a cloth heart as a headboard. A heart shaped bathtub sat in the middle of the room with chocolates that read ‘ _ Courtesy of Mayor Hancock’. _ Genevieve chuckled to herself as she read the card and turned it over; she was relieved that's all that it had said. Knowing Hancock, he would have wanted to add something.

She looked over to see Danse had finally made his way into the room and set his bag down. His gaze settled on her and he quickly averted it away from her.

“Hancock, uhm...he apparently wanted us to have the best suite in the hotel,” she chuckled.

“I see this,” he said as he continued to look around. The walls were a deep red color and it appeared this was the cleanest room in the entire hotel. Most of the other rooms she had stayed in had been horrible compared to this. 

Genevieve sighed as she walked over to the window. The moon was high and the stars were sparkling in the night sky. She shivered as a breeze came in the window and she closed the window.

“Well…” She said as she turned around and looked at the bed. “I suppose that we should get some rest…”

She saw Danse glance from the bed to her a few times before swallowing hard. “If you'd be more comfortable, I can take the floor. I don't mind.”

Genevieve felt her heart beating quickly as she looked towards the bed. “It's alright. There's no need...Unless, of course, you'd be more comfortable…”

“Uhm...Well…” Danse rubbed the back of his neck as he started to turn red. 

“The floor is hard and cold. We can share. We are both adults, right?” She chuckled as she set her bag on the bed and rifled through it for her pajamas. She felt her hands shake as she closed the bathroom door behind her and leaned up against it. She quickly changed and came out to find that Danse had sat down on the bed and was taking his holotags up over his head and set them down on the end table next to him.

Her breath caught as she looked him over. He had taken his shirt off to reveal the muscles he had built up over the years in the Brotherhood. He was wearing light sweatpants and his feet were bare as he swung them around onto the bed and leaned against the headboard.

She quickly averted her eyes and made her way to the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers herself.  She was embarrassed at how she had gawked at him and she hoped he hadn't noticed. She heard him click off the light and felt him get comfortable and lay down on his back.

She heard him take a deep breath as he began to speak up the the ceiling. “There's something I'd like to tell you.” He didn't wait for her response as he continued. “Growing up, I didn't have much. I was alone, most of the time, and I needed some way to make ends meet. I had a junk stand in Rivet City. It wasn't much, but it helped make me some caps for food and good water.”

“I find it hard to believe that you were anything but a soldier,” Genevieve spoke softly as she turned to her side to face him.

“I know...I met a man by the name of Cutler there and we became good friends, fast. We watched each other's back and kept each other safe. When recruits from the Brotherhood showed up in town, we both joined up.”

“You've mentioned him once before…”

“We stuck together and completed many successful missions together. The last mission he was  assigned he went missing…” She heard his voice catch and she took a chance by placing her hand on his arm. She felt him relax under her touch and she felt relieved that she may be helping him. “I was finally allowed to go after him, and I found him...He had contracted FEV, the super mutant virus. He begged me to out him down; he didn't want to become one of those vile creatures...I did it…” He looked her way and she saw the pain in his eyes as he spoke.

“Ever since Cutler died, I've seen other soldiers come and go. Some were brave, some were honest... hell, some were even downright heroic. But I'd never consider any of them to be a good friend, a friend like Cutler was... until now.”

He stared at her for what seemed like eternity before he took a deep, shaking breath. “It's a good feeling, but it frightens me all the same. Having a bond with someone then losing them...it changes you…”

She felt her heart race as he turned towards her. “When you died, in front of me, I was so afraid I would lose someone again and I don't know what I would do.”

“Danse…” Her voice shook at his confession and her heart ached for him. “That will never happen with me...I care about you too much to let that happen…” Her voice was barely a whisper as her eyes locked on his.

“I didn't realize you felt so strongly…” He whispered back. “You've definitely given me a lot to think about…”

Her eyes traced the features on his face that the moonlight illuminated. She needed to tell him, now. She knew he needed to know why she tensed under his innocent touch. She had actually punched him when he tried to wake her from her nightmares and she knew that he had to know something was wrong. Before she could change her mind, she took a deep breath and spoke quietly. “Nate used to beat me when we were married.”


	12. Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve gives Danse the details of her previous marriage to Nate.

Danse was frozen. He had his suspicions about what had happened to her, but he didn't want to be right. God, he wanted to be wrong. He didn't expect her to go on and part of him wished that she didn't. He heard her voice quiver in the darkness as she told him about her marriage.

“It didn't start out that way,” she said. “Nate was sweet, at first. He would buy me flowers, hold my hand, and hold me oh so close and lovingly...when I moved in with him, he began to yell more, but I knew that couples fought, so I brushed it off. After we were married he began pushing me around; into walls and furniture. First time he hit me was because I tried to defend myself, so he whipped my back with his belt…”

Danse didn't know what to say. His heart ached for what she had to endure. No one should ever have to go through that.

“Then, the sexual abuse began. I obviously didn't want to sleep with him, so he made me. He would beat me until I was weak and tie me to the bed…That's how I got pregnant with Shaun..”

She started to sob, quietly. “Why didn't you go for help?” Danse found himself asking.

“I tried. Nate was a prominent figure in our community so no one believed me. They never saw marks because he tried to keep them hidden. If they were visible, he made me stay inside until they were healed...I became very good at resetting my own dislocated joints and first aid…I know you've noticed that I tense when you touch me. It has nothing to do with you; it's my own defenses coming up to protect me.”

“I would never hurt you, Genevieve…”

“I know that...I'm working on it, I really am…”

She began to cry harder and she curled up into a ball as she hid her face. Danse hesitated for a moment, afraid of what she might do. He sat up and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but relaxed immediately when he began to softly rub it. He took a chance and lifted her up into his arms so he could cradle her. She moved with him so her head rested on his chest.

He felt her fingers grasp his arm as she held onto him as she cried. He smoothed her hair down her back as he held her, fighting back his own tears. He trailed his fingers up and down her back as she took deep, quivering breaths. He sat, swimming in his own thoughts, holding the strongest woman he knew, and he felt helpless.

He had no idea how bad her past had been before now. Everything suddenly made sense to him. She was tough as nails, but frightened by the little things. He remembered how she trembled as he held her hip as they danced and he couldn't believe how strong she had been to make him feel better.

He looked back down at her to see she has fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled and scooted himself down to get comfortable. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and whispered into her ear. “I won't let anyone hurt you ever again...I promise…”

\--------------------

_ Warm and safe. _

That's how Genevieve felt as she drifted out of her sleep and into the waking world. She shifted and felt the safe embrace that encompassed her. She sighed and relaxed her body and felt herself melting into relaxation as she breathed deeply. She uses to be held like this. So loving, caring, and kind. She missed it, but never knew she would trust someone enough to get this close.

That's the moment she realized whose embrace she was in. She gently turned around, still in his arms, and gazed at Danse as he slept soundly. The soft noise coming from his even breathing made her smile. She knew he would probably disapprove, because of the Brotherhood, but she nuzzled up closer to his chest. If he woke up, she would pretend to be asleep. She relaxed as she felt his arms coil around her body tighter and she didn't want this moment to end, just yet. 

She hadn't felt this safe since she and Nate first met. It only lasted a few months before she tried pulling away from him to build her wall. She was trying so hard to keep it up; scrambling to put the bricks in where they were crumbling out. As she looked up at Danse, she knew it was pointless to keep trying. He was breaking it down whether he knew it, or not. She found herself alright with this fact, even though it terrified her. Last night he told her was terrified of being close to anyone, for fear he may lose them. She decided that wherever fate led them, they could be terrified together and she didn't mind.

A soft snore came from his nose and she felt him jerk awake. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to still be sleeping, and she felt him tense around her as he realized how they were laying. She waited for him to quickly pull away and get up to leave her alone. She was afraid of being cold and left behind, but she heard him sigh and smooth her hair out of her face. She felt his gaze down on her and she decided to gently stir, but didn't leave his arms. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, as if she was making him hold her.

She looked up and saw his soft, brown eyes gazing down at her. She saw confliction in his features, as if he was having an internal battle within his mind. She wanted to stay and gaze at them more, but she knew morning had come and she had promised to meet with Hancock.

She slowly stretched her legs and arms straight as she yawned and gently sat up. Danse didn't take long to follow suit; sitting up and pulling a shirt over his head. Genevieve paused at the edge of the bed and looked over her shoulder to see him watching her. “Thank you, Danse,” she said.

Danse seemed confused at first as his eyebrows knitted close together. He regarded her a moment before he nodded. “Anytime, Genevieve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad that you are all enjoying this!!
> 
> I've been having health issues lately so my updates may be sporadic, but I'll post a few chapters at a time if I can!


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve and Danse are summoned back to the Prydwen.

Genevieve was pleased to see that Hancock was decent when they arrived at the Old State House. Nick sat next to him, cigarette in hand, and was puffing on it as they walked in.

“Gennie!” Hancock announced, throwing his hands up in rejoice with a Jet inhaler in his hand. “Glad to see you and Crew Cut made it!”

“Crew Cut?” She heard Danse ask under his breath. She smiled to reassure him it was alright.

“Hancock gives everyone a nickname,” she explained. 

“Yeah, I had to do some digging to find one for him...Gennie, you didn't tell me he was Brotherhood.”

“Is that a problem?” Danse asked suddenly.

“Whoa, hey, easy. It just explains why you're a tight ass.”

Genevieve placed her hand on Danse's chest before he could react. “He's with me, Hancock.”

“Oh, I know. I was just surprised he wasn't in a giant tin can, like the rest of them. By the way, how'd you like the room?”

The smirk across Hancock's face broadened when he saw how uncomfortable it made them. “Not like that, Hancock.”

“So you're saying there's still a chance for us?”

“Let the young people be, Hancock,” Nick scolded him. “A message came across the airwaves and I intercepted it by mistake. You two are needed back at The Prydwen.”

“Elder Maxson wouldn't send out a distress call unless it was urgent,” Danse told her.

“But, we need to get that Courser Chip!” Genevieve exclaimed. “Without it, we can't get into the Institute. We can't get to Shaun.”

“We will go for it afterwards, I promise.”

“So, this is goodbye already?” Hancock asked, puffing more Jet into his lungs.

“We will come back,” Genevieve reassured him. “Nick, tell Piper we say hello and I'll come see her soon.”

“She'll be glad to hear it,” Nick smiled. “Take care of yourself, kid.” Nick's eyes widened for a moment and everything stood still. When Nick spoke again, it was another voice coming through him and it sent shivers down Genevieve's spine. “I hope you got what you were looking for while digging around in my head....I knew I should have killed you while you were on ice…”

Genevieve stopped short; she knew that voice. She went pale and stepped towards Nick. “Nick? Is everything ok?”

Nick shook his head as if disregarding a bad memory. “Whoa, the doc was right about possible side effects. Don't worry about me, kid. I'll be fine.”

Genevieve stared at Nick for a while before meeting Danse at the door. She felt sick to her stomach as they left Goodneighbor and signalled for a Vertibird to pick them up.

_ That wasn't Nick's voice...It was Kellogg's… _

\--------------------

Danse was glad once his boots hit the hard, metal floors of The Prydwen. He retired to his quarters while Genevieve met with Maxson about her latest information on getting a Courser Chip. Maxson may even send out a team to retrieve it for them. He hoped so. He wanted to stay planted somewhere for a little while and catch up on his work he had been neglecting.

He played with his holotags around his neck as he wrote a brief report on what they had accomplished on their journey. He decided, against his better judgement, to leave The Slog, Hancock, and Nick out of the equation. The last thing he wanted was his, or Genevieve's, loyalty to be questioned. He detested the very thought of lying in his reports, but also knew that Genevieve would want her friends safe.

_ Genevieve _ .

Whenever she crossed his mind, he found it hard to concentrate in the task at hand. Even something as simple as repairing his guns was a hard chore when she would be off in the distance playing fetch with Dogmeat. When he had woken up to see her laying in his arms, he couldn't fight the feeling of... _ home _ .

Danse tried pushing it out of his mind many times. He was married to the Brotherhood and nothing could change that. Still, a part of him ached for her in a way he had never felt before. She just couldn't leave his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He hoped her meeting with Maxson was going well and that she was behaving herself. She had yelled at him and called him a prick at her last meeting with him. He could still feel the heat of anger radiating off of Maxson as he calmed him down before running after her. That felt like a lifetime ago.

He gazed around his room and felt like he didn't even recognize it. Everything seemed so foreign when she wasn't with him and it was a strange feeling. The Prydwen had been his home for years and he never felt safer than he did here. Now, it felt foreign.

A faint knock at the door distracted him and he called for them to come in. He was surprised to see Genevieve enter, shyly.

“I apologise if I'm interrupting,” she spoke softly as she looked around his room.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, suddenly standing on his feet. She looked worried and it scared him.

“I'm sorry...I shouldn't be here.” She turned to leave, but Danse grabbed her arm, gently, and stopped her. She stopped and looked at him and he was afraid. He wasn't able to place where her worries were and he waited for her to speak.

“Danse…” She looked from her arm to him a few moments; confliction was on her face as she stood in silence.

“Please, I want to know if something is wrong.” Danse let go and rested his fingers in hers. His eyes met hers and saw how wide they were at his gesture. He stood his ground and gazed into her eyes. He was relieved to see her features slowly soften as she curled her fingers around his.

“I'm going on a mission…” She finally told him, avoiding eye contact.

“Is that all?” Danse wasn't sure why she was worried. He would be there with her, always, and he would protect her.

“I'm being sent out without you, Danse…” Her eyes met his and he saw the tears welling up within them. He felt as if he had been hit by a Brahmin. He knew she could handle herself, but he didn't like the fact that he wouldn't be with her. “Elder Maxson wants to see you. I don't know if I was even allowed to come here before I left.”

“You're leaving now?” Danse heard the panic in his voice.

“Yes. I will have a few scribes and initiates under me as I lead the mission to retrieve, and decode, the Courser Chip.” She rubbed her fingers against his lightly as she stared at the ground. “I just...I just wanted to see you once before I left.”

Danse clamped his hand on hers and pulled her in and wrap his arms around her. He wasn't sure where this spantiaity came from, but he didn't care. He held her, gently, in his arms and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Thank you, Danse...For everything…” He pulled away and wiped a tear from her cheek with his rough, calloused thumb.

“If something happens...Send for me...I will come for you, no matter what…”

She smiled, softly, and lept into his arms again. She pulled away, kissed his cheek lightly, and told him she would miss him as she turned for the door. Danse stood in his place, frozen and unable to move. As his door shut, he brought his hand up to his cheek and touched the place where her lips had been. He felt an aching within his soul that he had never felt before. With trembling fingers, he opened his door and stormed down to Elder Maxson's office; he had some explaining to do.

Danse stormed into Elder Maxson's office without knocking, startling Maxson as he spilled his coffee. He looked, incredulously, at Danse as he quickly stood. 

“What is the meaning of this, Paladin?” He growled at him. “What gives you the right to storm into  _ my _ office like this?”

“Where have you sent my Knight?” Danse asked as he calmed his breathing.

“She is not your Knight, Paladin. She belongs to the Brotherhood and she is under  _ my _ command!” Danse stood with his arms behind his back as Maxson began to yell at him. “I have gone over your reports, Paladin Danse. You speak very highly of her so I knew she was ready for her own assignment.”

“A Paladin and his charge have not been separated so quickly. This isn't protocol.”

“Nothing about gaining access into the Institute is following protocol! We need to do everything in our power to get in there and I need you here to help build the teleporter she gave me the schematics for, Paladin! If you want to help, you are to stay put. Is that understood?”

Danse stared, blankly, at Maxson. He knew he was right. The important thing was getting into the Institute and that had never changed. Danse apologized for his outburst and quickly left Maxson's office.

Danse stepped out onto the flight deck in time to see Genevieve's Vertibird about to take off. She spoke orders to those below her, and stopped when she locked eyes with Danse. She smiled and gave him a nod, that he returned. The thought of her going out there without him made him light headed. He knew he had to trust Genevieve, and that she would come back.

_ She has to come back… _


	14. Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve's first solo mission doesn't go as she would have planned.

Genevieve watched Danse disappear from her view as the Vertibird flew into the sky. She had no idea why she had intruded on Danse in his private quarters; she felt the need to see him after she had met with Elder Maxson. As she thought about it, she was glad she had went. She didn’t know what she would have done if she had left without seeing him; even though Maxson had forbidden it.

This meeting was different than the previous had ever been. Maxson was nice to her, this time. He didn’t yell at her or berate her, like he usually did. This time, he told her that he had heard how exceptional she was from Danse’s reports and he was impressed. She held back laughter within herself because he was less than impressed with her when she called him a prick.

He spoke of The Brotherhood’s mission to get to The Institute and why he felt so strongly about it. To him, anything that wasn’t human was the enemy. The fact that The Institute had created some of these things, made them evil as well. Genevieve stood quietly and listened to him, although she kept saying  _ Bullshit!  _ Within her mind. She wasn’t ignorant, she knew that some synths and ghouls were bad; there was no denying that. She had also met some very good synths and ghouls that she trusted to have her back. She would even trust them with her life.

She handed over the schematics for the teleporter because she felt that The Brotherhood would have the technology to make it. She felt guilty for not conscripting the Minutemen to do it, but she needed her best chance to find Shaun. If he was there, she needed to find him as fast as she could.

She felt the Vertibird begin to descend and she braced herself against the walls of the cabin and looked to those under her. She was happy to see Carmen, again. Carmen about knocked her over when she entered the mess hall. Carmen had been ordered to accompany her, as well as other initiates and scribes, to take down the courser.

Gabe was their Lancer; he was flying them there and was ordered for her to wait for his signal to pick them up. He was young, but a damn good pilot. He was one of those smart kids that would have graduated high school at the age of fourteen.

Skylar was a scribe that was older than Genevieve. He was new to The Brotherhood, but had been in other ranks throughout the Commonwealth. They lacked the organization that The Brotherhood had and that's what he wanted. 

Annabelle was a quiet scribe that was a master with computers. Unfortunately, she was inexperienced with weapons so Genevieve ordered the others to protect her at all costs. She was afraid of losing people on her first solo mission and it made her want to hurl outside into the sky.

The Vertibird landed a few miles outside the old CIT Building and they all jumped off before it took off into the air again. Gabe gave them a brief brotherhood salute before he disappeared from view with a huge smile on his face. She turned to see everyone staring at her, awaiting orders.

“Ok,” she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and picked up a stick to draw in the sand. “The CIT building is here. We need to go through an alley nearby to get there discreetly.” She slowly drug the stick through the path they were going to take. “The signal for the Courser is in the Greentech Genetics building over here. We will lay low and make our way over there and seek it out. Any questions?”

Annabelle raised her hand, shyly, as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Genevieve nodded to her to speak. “How I turn the safety off this thing?” She held her laser rifle awkwardly as her blond ponytail trailed over her shoulder.

“Like this!” Carmen smiled and pushed the button to the side of the trigger.

“I'd rather it be on until I need it,” Annabelle's quivering voice said as she pushed it back in.

“Now, I do know the building is over run with Gunner's,” Genevieve continued. “We need to take cover as soon as we enter a room in case someone is there, understood?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Skylar shot out.

“Please, don't call me ma'am…” Genevieve felt her stomach turn as she remembered she was in charge.

“Yes, Knight.”

It wasn't ideal, but it was better than ma'am. She took a deep breath and started walking down the alley she had shown them. They were able to get past some super mutants without being seen. Genevieve knew that they couldn't take them all on their own. Everyone was too inexperienced to handle them at this moment.

She heard the rubble crunch under her boots as the Greentech building came into view. She cussed under her breath as she saw Gunner's guarding the entrance. She turned to her comrades and told them they needed to take them out before they were able to proceed inside. Carmen seemed a little too excited as she beamed down at her rifle. Skylar gave a nod, while Annabelle went white as a ghost.

“It'll be fine,” Genevieve assured her. “Just stay with me and you'll be ok.” Annabelle nodded and they proceeded closer to the enemy to get better shots. Genevieve took aim and held her breath as she took the first shot.

\--------------------

“Take fucking cover!” Genevieve shouted and threw Annabelle down behind a desk that had been turned over. There were more Gunner's in the building than she had anticipated. She knew they would only walk out of here alive by thinking tactfully; Gunner's were nuts.

Skylar was ahead of them, attempting to thin them out as they climbed the stairs and broken parts of the building.

_ I'll have a word with Maxson about his recon skills when we get back. _

Genevieve shot up and aimed at a Gunner Private, shooting her down in one shot. Annabelle frantically tried to hack into the computer next to them as Genevieve and Carmen protected her.

“Get those turrets shut off!” Carmen shouted above the gun fire. 

“I'm trying!” Annabelle cried out. Genevieve saw the sweat coming from the young girls brow. “There!” Genevieve gave her a reassuring smile as they heard the bullets stop ringing in their area.

“Clear!” They heard Skylar shout from above them.

“Move!” Genevieve shouted as she went ahead, followed by Annabelle and then Carmen.

“What the fuck are those!” Annabelle screamed at automatrons came after them.

“Shoot 'em!” Genevieve ordered. “I'm going to  _ kill _ Maxson when we get back.” She said between shots. “We were  _ not _ prepared for this!”

The last shot rang through the air and took down the automatron that was about to shoot Genevieve. She looked over to see a frightened Annabelle holding her gun up to her chest, taking deep breaths. “Please don't make me do that again,” she said as she reapplied the safety to her gun.

“Thank you,” Genevieve sighed. “That was close. There should only be two more levels, let's go.”

They peaked their heads around the corner to see more Gunner's. Genevieve debriefed them on the plan to get past them. They were to take them down and protect Annabelle so she could get to the terminal and unlock the door to the last level; where the Courser was.

Genevieve dove in, taking two of them down by their knees right away. They cried in pain as Carmen took care of them. Skylar shuffled to the side, Annabelle behind him, to be sure she got there safely.

Genevieve tossed a molotov cocktail into the air and drug Carmen behind a turned over shelving unit. “Blow their asses off, boss!” She called out, a giant smile across her face.

“Don't celebrate just yet!” Skylar called out as he stuck his dagger in the neck of another Gunner.

Time froze when Genevieve heard a startled cry from across the room. She looked towards Annabelle to see a Gunner proceeding towards her. Annabelle raised her gun to fire, but still had the safety in place. The Gunner took his pistol and shot her in the head, killing her instantly. 

“No!” Genevieve cried out as she shot the man down and ran to Annabelle.

Carmen and Skylar came up behind her as she attempted to inject a Stimpak into Annabelle.

“She's gone, boss…” Carmen placed her hand on Genevieve's shoulder.

“She wasn't prepared,” Skylar spoke.

Anger fueled through Genevieve as she turned towards him quickly. “You were supposed to protect her! We knew she was inexperienced with guns! We planned for it and you left your post”

“I took one down!”

“Not the one coming to kill her! She needed you and you didn't help her! After this, you are being sent back to The Prydwen. Carmen will accompany me to get the chip decoded.”

Without another word, Genevieve turned and finished hacking the terminal that Annabelle had started. She looked down at Annabelle, closed her eyes, and continued up the stairs where she heard more gunshots.

Genevieve rolled her eyes in exhaustion until she saw only one person left. He wore a black jumpsuit with black sunglasses; she could only assume this was the Courser.

“So...you finally found me,” he spoke as he turned to her. His expression was cold and numb as he looked at Genevieve and her crew. “If you're going to kill me, and if you succeed, at least kill the synth that is in that room.”

Genevieve was taken back by such a strange request. “What are you talking about?”

“The synth in there escaped the Institute. It is my job to reclaim her...That's only if I don't kill you first, however.”

He drew his gun and missed his shot as Genevieve jumped to the side and fired her rifle at him. Skylar and Carmen kept a steady stream of gunfire going his way until Genevieve jumped up behind him and slit his throat. She was surprised to see that a synth could still bleed out.

She fished the chip out of his head, using her knife, and was pleased with herself until she heard a noise from the room behind her. She looked to see a young woman standing there, frightened.

“Help me, please!” She begged Genevieve.

“Who are you?” Genevieve asked.

“Well...I don't have a name...Not yet…”

“Why did you escape the Institute?” Genevieve was wary as she questioned the woman.

“I-I wanted to live my own life...I just want to be free. To find love and friends.”

“Boss, it's against protocol to be negotiating with a synth,” Skylar reminded her.

Of course it was, but this woman didn't seem like a killing machine; not like the one she had just disposed of. This woman reminded her of Nick and how all he wanted was his own life to live.

“Please?” The woman pleaded again.

“Go. Get out of here before anyone else shows up,” Genevieve told her. The woman shouted her praises as she ran down the stairs.

“Did you really just do that?” Carmen asked. Genevieve turned to see that her comrades faces we're pale and in shock.

“What?”

“She's a synth!” Skylar spat. “We can't just let her go!”

“We did, and we will! She is of no threat to us, and we don't kill civilians.”

“But Synths  _ aren _ 't civilians. They can be controlled by the Institute.”

“I'm done talking about this! Move out and alert Gabe of our location. Skylar, you will see to it that Annabelle's body makes it back to the Prydwen, understood?”

She knew he was furious by the shade of red that was across his face as he gave her a brisk 'understood’. She rubbed her forehead in frustration; she wasn't going to be able to properly mourn the loss of her first charge. She needed to get the chip to Dr. Amari as quickly as she could so she could make it back to The Prydwen. She only hoped that Danse was having a better time than she was.


	15. Fifteen

Danse cried out in frustration as the screws went everywhere. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the initiate apologized and quickly started to clean up the screws he had spilled all over the floor by bumping into Danse.

“It's fine, just leave them,” Danse clipped at him. The Initiate stood and saluted him quickly before leaving. 

Danse picked the screws up and glanced back at the stabilized reflector platform he had been tasked to work on for the teleporter. He hoped that this would get he, and Genevieve, into the Institute with no issues, but he had his reservations about it.

No one had used a teleporter before, except the Institute. How did he know they would get there, and back, in one piece? Would it properly align their molecules? He tried not to think about it as he attached a wire from the generator to it. He heard the pleasing hum of the electricity as it flowed through.

“Good work, Paladin,” Proctor Ingram said as she looked over his work. “Maybe you should come and help me after this is all done!” Her smile was genuine, but Danse disagreed.

“I like going into the Commonwealth,” he admitted. “There isn't enough action, here, to keep me interested.”

“I understand that. It's how I felt after I lost my legs, but I've adjusted. Even if I do miss a good mission from time to time.” She winked at him and nodded towards the next project. “This beam emitter needs tweaking, yet. Can you take a look?”

Danse sighed as he gathered his tools together and looked up at the giant machine before him. This was what would send them there. “Any way we can test it?”

“Not without alerting the Institute of our plans,” Maxson stepped down from the steps. “They track these kind of things.”

“Understood, sir.” Danse knelt down to connect the remaining wires that we're still bare. He looked to the control panel, and found the cords to connect them. He saw Proctor Ingram smile as she worked on the relay dish they had gotten.

“Take a break, Paladin,” she told him. “You've earned it!”

“Thank you, Proctor Ingram.” Danse cleaned up his area and made his way back to the Vertibird that would take him back up to the Prydwen.

He went straight to his quarters to put his tools away, shower, and relax. He closed his eyes and felt the hot water run over his face. He was tired but had found himself unable to sleep while Genevieve was still gone. The nightmares with Cutler kept coming back when he hardly had them when Genevieve was around. Her presence was calming and he missed her.

God, he missed her. She had been gone only a few days, but it felt like a lifetime. He found it harder than get her out of his thoughts as he worked on these mundane tasks around The Prydwen. He almost wondered if Maxson had sent her alone as a test because he really wasn't doing much here.

He turned the water off and dried himself before getting dressed and sitting at his desk. He sat there, looking at a blank piece of paper, as he wrestled with what to write. He wanted to write to Genevieve, but he'd have no way of getting the letter to her without knowing where she was.

The idea struck him as he began to write; he scratched Dogmeat's ears as he sat next to him. She would certainly go back to Dr. Amari when she had the chip to get it decoded. All of this was against his better judgement, and he felt the fear grip his chest as he continued to write his letter. There were things he needed her to know, but he'd never be able to get the words out of his mouth if she were right in front of him.

He finally had reflected the fact that he had feelings for her. The minute she walked out of his room to board the Vertibird, he knew. Everything that had been going on since then only validated it. The Brotherhood was supposed to come first, but maybe something else could be added to his life.

He suddenly looked up and felt dread. What if she didn't feel the same? He could be spilling his heart out onto paper to her, but he knew he couldn't send it. It was just a way for him to get the thoughts out of his head. He sighed and set it off to the side by the envelope he had prepared for it.

He went and laid down in his bed and grimaced at the cold sheets. Someday, he might tell her. Until then, he would continue to worry about, and be aggravated by, her. He chuckled at the thought and drifted into a sleep full of the nightmares that came when she was gone.

\--------------------

Danse was finishing the work he had been continuing on his power armor when a commotion began on the floor above him. He jumped and rushed up the ladder, hoping against all odds that Genevieve was back.

He reached the floor to see scribes carrying in a gourney that held a body, and he felt cold. Who was that?  _ God, no... Genevieve _ .

He rushed into Elder Maxson's office to see him speaking with Skylar, the scribe sent with Genevieve.

“It was my fault, sir,” he heard him explain. “Knight Genevieve trusted me to keep her safe as she used the terminal to unlock the door to our target, but I went my own way.”

“I see,” Maxson raised his eyebrows towards the man and dismissed him. “We will have a disciplinary meeting upon her return. Thank you for being honest.”

“Yes, sir.” Skylar saluted before turning to leave. 

Danse stepped out of his way and turned to Maxson, who had a smile across his face. “She has the chip, Paladin. She's taking it to be decoded now.”

“So, she's alright?” Danse was relieved when he saw Maxson nod.

“She will reach her destination within a day or two. Is the teleporter going well?”

“Yes, sir. Proctor Ingram is doing the fine touches as we speak.”

“Good. Good... Paladin, may I ask you something?”

“Of course, Elder.”

“Why do you seem to care about this charge of yours so much? You haven't had this much interest in one since Cutler was still with us.”

“I see great potential in her, sir. That is all.”

“I see...We have known each other for a long time, Paladin. I only hope that you would be honest with me, even if you aren't with yourself.”

“Sir?”

“Nevermind I said anything. You are dismissed.”

Danse made his way back down to the repair bay, but couldn't get Maxson's words out of his mind. Does he suspect something has happened? If he does, it wouldn't matter. It wasn't against policy, but he couldn't afford any more distractions from his word with the Brotherhood. That's why he didn't send the letter; he needed to stop being hopeful and stay focused. He wouldn't let the thought of her long hair running through his fingers ruin his concentration, as he stripped a screw by twisting it too long.

_ This woman will be the death of me… _

\--------------------

Genevieve felt Carmen's curiousness getting the best of her as they walked to Goodneighbor. They hadn't spoken a word since they had left, which was not like Carmen. She had to tell her to stop talking before she gave away their position in Greentech Genetics.

Genevieve looked at her surroundings and knew that Goodneighbor was close. She turned to see that Carmen was bursting at the seams to talk to her. Genevieve finally told her to spit it out 

“It's just, you let that Synth live…” Carmen said. “I'm not questioning you, or anything, but isn't that against The Brotherhood?”

“It sounds like you're questioning me,” Genevieve smirked as they walked on.

“I just...I've never thought about it any other way...Other than killing them, that is. Why did you let her go?”

Genevieve was prepared for her to ask the question, but she hadn't quite prepared an answer for her. “I've met Synths and ghouls who are not bad people…”

“You call them people?” Carmen stared at her with wide, curious eyes as she caught up with her.

“Of course. Ghouls were people once, before the radiation hit them. Some Synths work to make a living, just as anyone else would. Some really just want to do good in this corrupt world. I felt that she was one of them. She just wanted to live life without the Institute hovering over her.”

“Fascinating! But won't they just send another Courser for her?”

“Possibly. But that's why we need to get this chip to my contact. She can help us get in there and stop what they are doing.”

“I like your style, sister!” Carmen giggled as she butt-bumped Genevieve to the side. Genevieve smiled as she continued walking. 

She hadn't expected to make friends aboard The Prydwen, other than Danse, but Carmen was definitely something different. She wasn't closed minded like the others on the ship. She only prayed that Skylar wouldn't say anything until she returned.

She was relieved when they saw the gates to Goodneighbor just up ahead. Genevieve waved at the guards as they walked in, and she heard Carmen gasp as they entered. Genevieve assumed that she must not have ever seen ghouls who weren't feral.

They quickly made their way through town and entered The Memory Den where Dr. Amari was waiting for them.

“How did you know we were coming?” Genevieve asked, confused. She had never told her when they were coming.

“This letter arrived for you this morning,” Dr. Amari smiled. “So I assumed that you would be coming soon.”

Genevieve turned the letter around in her hands, gazing at it. It was addressed to her, but it had no return address. She found it odd, but stashed it into her bag for later. She pulled out the Courser Chip and handed it to Dr. Amari.

“Can you decode this?”

“Oh, you have much faith in my abilities,” Dr. Amari smiled. “But this is beyond my capabilities. Although, I do have contacts that could.”

“Can you bring me to them?”

“No. All I can tell you is to follow the Freedom Road.” Dr. Amari winked and went back down to her lab without another word. Genevieve knew exactly what she was talking about, and was glad that she only had Carmen with her for this part.

Genevieve sighed as they turned to leave. Carmen was talking about the how probable it was to actually become a ghoul in today's time, but Genevieve could only think about the letter she had received. She was anxious to get to a moment to figure out what it was. She had never received a letter since she woke up; she had always gotten radio messages.

She led Carmen out of Goodneighbor and started walking towards Boston. She knew that Dr. Amari was leading her to The Railroad, but she didn't want to tell Carmen that. First, she had to convince Desdemona to help her and allow Carmen inside their hideout. That was going to be a pain and she wasn't looking forward to it.


	16. Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve reads Danse's letter and is deceived by those who she should have been able to trust the most.

Genevieve activated the code to the secret door to The Railroad, and was met with a man in reflective sunglasses.  _ Deacon _ . Of course he would be the one guarding the entrance tonight. His eyebrows raised above the rim of his glasses as a smile crept across his face.

“Well, well, well…” He chuckled. “What bring you to my neck of the woods?”

“I need help, Deacon. This isn't a social call,” Genevieve spoke with authority, but this didn't phase Deacon.

“Why not? You told me you'd visit soon. And here you are! Desdemona will be glad to see ya. Come on in!”

Deacon waved over his shoulder and led them inside. “Tell me, what would you need our help with?”

“I have a Courser Chip I need decoded. Think Tom can do it?”

“ _ Can Tom do it _ ,” Deacon mocked. “Why do you need it?”

“I need it to build a teleporter to get into the Institute.”

Carmen shot Genevieve a worried look. It wasn't standard for them to give out their information, but Genevieve knew she wouldn't get their help if she didn't tell them. She had been this way once before.

“What the  _ fuck _ is she doing here?” She heard Desdemona shout across the underground room.

“I need your help,” Genevieve shrugged. 

“I knew you'd come back crawling.”

Once Genevieve explained herself to Desdemona, she got Tinker Tom working on the code. The only thing Desdemona wanted was a way to get into the Institute. Genevieve agreed and retired to the room she and Carmen had been shown. It would be a few hours before Tom had it done, so she told them to wait there.

She and Desdemona didn't get along very well. She found her arrogant and cocky, while Desdemona found Genevieve naive and helpless. She had met the railroad before she had come to terms with her new life, so Desdemona was right. She was naive and helpless. She knew it wasn't the case now, as she stared at the Rocky ceiling of their quarters.

“If we are going to be here for a while, mind if I catch some shut eye?” Carmen asked her. 

Genevieve saw how weary the young woman was and nodded. She knew that she should rest, as well, but her nerves were wound too tight. She suddenly remembered the letter she had received, and rummaged through her bag for it.

She peeled open the envelope and slowly opened the letter. She immediately recognized the handwriting and smiled through her confusion. She had been trying to not think of him this entire time, but she was horrible at it. Whenever she finished one thought, a thought about him would wiggle it's way in. She was suddenly reminded of his arms around her when she began to read the letter…

_ Genevieve, _

_ There are things in my mind that I want to tell you, but I'm not good at talking about these things. I honestly don't know if I will even send this letter, but I need to get everything off my chest and writing is the only option right now. _

_ Ever since you left The Prydwen, I can't get you out of my mind and it's infuriating. I'm not so easily distracted from my duty to The Brotherhood, but when you are on my mind, all I want to do is see you. The kiss you left on my cheek still burns warmly when I think about it and I find my knees going weak. _

_ Genevieve, this isn't who I am. I'm married to the Brotherhood. I have a duty to do; to protect the people of the Commonwealth from abominations. Yet, all I want to do is hold you like I did in Goodneighbor and reassure you that I'd never let anyone hurt you again. I fear for your life while I'm not there and I'm not scared easily. _

_ My thoughts are so conflicted and I feel lost. I was always able to think clearly when I was on The Prydwen, my home. Now I only feel home wherever you seem to be. _

_ I'm sitting here, thinking about you, and writing my thoughts out as they come to me. I know I won't have the guts to send this, so I don't know why I'm even writing it, but Dogmeat thinks it's a good idea. _

_ If I get the courage to send this, I just want you to know one thing. _

_ Please come home to me. _

_ Paladin Danse _

Genevieve stared at the words with her mouth hanging open in shock. Did he really mean to send this? Or did it get knocked in with other paperwork to be sent out? Either way, she knew that it was his handwriting and now her heart pounded as she tried to organize her thoughts.

Danse had feelings for her. She had never thought that would happen, but it did. She knew she had the same feelings, but she was afraid that her wounds went too deep to allow someone close like that, again.

She reread the letter a few times, memorizing his words and absorbing them. What she couldn't figure out was why he would want such a damaged woman? She had told him of her past and she felt that was enough to scare anyone away. She had thought that he had held her as a courtesy because she was crying. 

The questions swarmed her mind as she tried to relax in her cot. She wasn't able to rest; not after that. Fear and anxiety gripped her because she knew that once the chip was decoded, they would signal for Gabe to pick them up and she would see him again. Should she mention the letter? No, she would wait for him to mention it, unless something drastic happened, she decided.

\-------------------

Danse scrambled around his room as he searched frantically. He was looking under his desk as Dogmeat cocked his head to the side as he stared at him. “Don't just stare at me! Look for it!” He told Dogmeat. Dogmeat sat down and scratched behind his ear before jumping into Danse's bed and laying down.

Danse sighed in frustration as he searched his garbage can for the letter. He knew he hadn't sent it, but it was missing. If someone else had gotten it, and read it, he'd never live it down. In his panicked frenzy, he almost missed the sound of a Vertibird approaching The Prydwen. He brushed it off to the side; he was sure it wasn't her. It never was whenever he went out to check.

Dogmeat jumped off the bed and started barking at the door while scratching at the floor. “You were just out!” Danse told him, but still opened the door for the dog. Dogmeat ran out his door and bounded away. Danse ran after him as he yelled at him; Maxson was alright with him being here as long as he didn't cause trouble.

Danse turned the corner and stood still as he saw that Dogmeat had tackled Genevieve and was licking her face, fiercely, as she laughed. Her eyes met his and she smiled at him.

Danse had to restrain the urge to run up to her and pick her up in a hug. He allowed her some space for Dogmeat as his tongue continued to lick her face, leaving a shine of dog drool behind. She finally stood and walked over to him. He saw she was tired and worn out; she should be resting.

“So...I survived!” She smiled when he didn't speak.

“I'm glad to see you back, Knight,” he smiled down at her. “I'm sorry to hear about the casualty that you had…” Her face darkened as she was reminded of it, and he kicked himself.

“Can we talk?” She asked him quietly. He nodded as ice ran through his veins. Had she gotten the letter?

He followed her up to the flight deck where it was empty. She set her things down and leaned on the railing. “It was a suicide mission, Danse. We weren't prepared and we were lucky all of us aren't dead.”

“What happened?” He asked as he leaned on the railing next to her; his holotags hitting the metal.

“There were a lot more Gunner's than we were prepared for. Automatrons as well. We handled it, but it could have gone a lot fucking better…” She kicked her boot against the pole of the railing and he felt the vibration in his arms. “I wonder if Maxson set us up for failure.”

“He wouldn't do that,” Danse was quick to defend Maxson. “He must have gotten bad, or incomplete, Intel. He never would have sent you there if he didn't think you could handle it.”

“Annabelle could have survived if we had more people. If you were there, it never would have happened.”

“Genevieve, it could have still happened if I was there.” Danse set his hand on her shoulder to find she was quivering under his touch, but he didn't move his hand. “I'm not perfect. I've lost people for stupid reasons that I cannot even explain. It was your first mission...were you successful?” When she nodded he sighed and smiled. “Then it's a victory. It doesn't lighten the fact that someone died, but the end result was a victory…”

She looked up at him as she seemed to absorb his words. She raised her hand and rested it on his hand that was still on her shoulder. “I know, its just...she wasn't prepared for this. She had never even used a gun before, Danse. Had someone more experienced been in her place, we all would have come home tonight.”

“Honestly? I'm just glad that  _ you  _ made it home safe.”

He watched her face appeared conflicted as she looked up to him with sad, weary eyes. “This isn't my home, Danse.”

The impact of her words hit him harder than he thought it should have. “You don't mean that run down truck stop…”

“It was my first home here, in the Commonwealth...Everything I own is there. I know it's not the greatest, but I want to build a house there.”

Danse understood, but it still hurt. He had hoped she would stay on The Prydwen after all of this was over. He knew he couldn't just leave to be with her, even if she wanted it as well. He began to feel empty inside as he gazed down at her as she looked out over the railing, her hand still on his.

The intercom seemed to scream to life behind them as it called for both of them to meet in Elder Maxson's office immediately. They both sighed as she picked her things up and he held the door for her to go in first. They made the walk to his office and he was surprised to see a big smile on his face.

“Rest up! Tomorrow, we teleport into the Institute!” He laughed out as he handed them both drinks. She looked over to Danse with confusion.

“Already? I just got back,” she told him.

“We need to make our move quickly before they know what we are doing. I wanted to share a drink with you two to tell you how much I appreciate all you've done for The Brotherhood. Go. Drink your beers and rest up. Tomorrow, we change the world!”

Genevieve quickly left his office and Danse followed close behind. She dropped her beer into a garbage can along the way, and he followed suit. He didn't know where she intended to go, but he was surprised when she entered his room and waited for him to follow.

After he shut the door, she turned to him with worry on her face. “Danse, I don't know if I can do this…” She choked out.

“What do you mean?” He asked as he pulled out a chair for her.

“What if Shaun doesn't know who I am? What if he doesn't want to come back with me? What if they catch me and kill him?” 

She started to hyperventilate as her anxiety began to rise. He grabbed her shoulders to steady herself and was relieved when she looked to him and evened her breathing. “Nothing like that will happen, Genevieve. I will be there with you the whole time.”

“You promise?”

The fear in her eyes crippled him. “I promise.” He meant the words that he spoke to her. She sighed and relaxed under his touch.

“Thank you, Danse...I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Me either…” He gave her a soft smile before she stood to retire to bed. He shut the door behind her and leaned his forehead against the door; the cool metal on his hot face felt good. He took his shirt off and shut the light off before crawling into his own bed, collapsing onto the mattress below him. Tomorrow would be tiring and he knew he needed his rest. Maybe with her back safely he would be able to sleep after all.

\--------------------

Genevieve looked up at the giant teleporter that they had built. It was intimidating, to say the least. She watched the giant arcs of electricity frame the platform that she and Danse would soon be standing on, and she was terrified. She knew that this was the only way, but it still didn't change that she was scared.

She looked over to see Danse standing on the other side, next to Elder Maxson. They were having a conversation about the teleporter, she assumed. She was relieved to know that Danse would be with her; she didn't know if she could go through with it if he wasn't.

Maxson saw her looking their way and waved her over. She walked over to them with a shy smile as Maxson told her how excited he was to see it in action.

“Let's do a quick run through,” he said as he clapped his hands together. “Knight, you will stand on the platform there.” Genevieve walked onto the platform and felt her anxiety rise as she looked up into the beam emitter that was warming up above her.

Maxson had placed everyone in their perspective places and turned to her, once again. “Once you are inside, you need to try and download their data from their computers. Do you have the holotape?”

“Yes, sir,” she said as she pulled it from her pocket.

“Good, good. Now, you must stand still otherwise you may be obliterated by the beam, understood?”

“I understand, sir.” She felt uneasy about this situation and looked to Danse to see he wore the same expression she was.

“Now, we will press this button and you will be off.”

“Elder!” Danse shouted. “She can't go alone!” Once Danse spoke, guards restrained him from getting closer to Genevieve.

“It's how it must be done, Paladin. The less people we send, the better.”

“No! Maxson!” Danse fought against the guards as Maxson ordered them to restrain him. Genevieve was about to run out until she heard the crackle of electricity above her. She couldn't move unless she wanted to be killed. She glanced around to see the faces of her other brothers and sisters and they seemed just as confused as she did when Elder Maxson had pressed that button to teleport her into the Institute.

She looked to Danse with sad eyes to see the terror in his as he struggled against the guards, shouting at Elder Maxson. Everything was happening so fast that she was thinking when she blurted out to Danse, “I got your letter, Danse. Please be patient…” She saw him pause, his face was pale as he stared at her and pushed back one more time, even harder than he had. He broke free and ran towards her, but with a flash of light his face was gone and she didn't know what to expect next.


	17. Seventeen

Danse stared at the platform where Genevieve was standing just seconds before. He was released so he could run up to the platform where he fell to his hands and knees in defeat. His eyes looked up to see Elder Maxson shaking everyone's hand in congratulations and Danse felt fury well from deep within. He stood and stormed up to Maxson and pulled his shoulder to grab his attention.

Maxson stared at him in confusion as Danse yelled at him. “She wasn't supposed to go alone! I was to go with her, that was the plan!”

“That was never the plan, and I suggest you watch your tone, Paladin!” Maxson shouted in Danse's face. “She needed to go alone. Too many people teleporting into the Institute could have alerted them to our arrival. You told me she was a capable soldier and that you had faith in her, so I decided she would go alone! Now, stand down, Paladin!”

Danse glared at Maxson for a moment before quickly leaving before he did something he would regret. He slammed the door shut to his room and cleared his desk with one sweep of his arm. The papers fell onto Dogmeat, which caused him to jump up in alarm. Danse cried out in frustration as he threw his chair across the room before sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

_ I promised her...I promised her I would be there...And she got my FUCKING LETTER! _

Danse rubbed his face in frustration and kicked his bag that sat on the floor. Dogmeat came up to him, whining, and rested his head on Danse's lap. He scratched Dogmeat behind his ears before burying his face in his fur. His tears dampened the German Shepard's fur as he began to cry.

Last time he cried, Genevieve had died right in front of him. He couldn't remember any time before that when he had cried, except as a child. Danse had always been alone until he met Cutler, then he died and left him. Then, he met Genevieve and now she was gone. He had no way of knowing if she was safe, or even alive.

Dogmeat nuzzled him and whined again. Danse couldn't believe that Maxson has done this to her. Was she right, before? Was he setting her up for failure? Surely, that couldn't be the truth because getting into the Institute was the goal. Danse began to have his doubts, however. Maxson had tricked her into standing on that platform without him and pulled the lever himself.

The fact that she had gotten his letter scared him, as well. She hadn't mentioned it before she disappeared; did she expect to die in the process? She told him to be patient; what did that mean? He needed to talk to her, now more than ever. He wanted to understand. He needed her here.

He stood suddenly, startling Dogmeat, and left his room to go see Maxson. He needed answers and maybe Maxson would talk to him, now that he wasn't yelling. Danse saw Carmen leaving Maxson's office and she stopped him.

“Please tell me she's ok.”

“I-I don't know…” Danse admitted. Her blue eyes began to well with tears.

“She's a good woman, Paladin Danse. With all due respect, she didn't deserve to be tricked like that.”

“I know.”

She saluted before scurrying away so Danse could see Maxson. “Are you done questioning me, Paladin?” He snapped as he poured himself some whiskey.

“I would just like an explanation, sir,” Danse held back the bitterness on his voice. “It's not our way to trick our brothers and sisters.”

“I knew she wouldn't go alone, but she needed to. I never once said that you were going to go with her. I never mentioned it. You came to that conclusion on your own.”

“It's such a dangerous mission, sir. What if she doesn't, or can't, come back?”

“Then we find another way to destroy them. I already have Proctor Ingram working on a plan to blow the son of a bitches up.”

“If we destroy it, she may be lost in the battle.”

“For the greater good of the Commonwealth, sometimes sacrifices must be made. She will have died for a good purpose.  I will give her a few days to return before we go ahead with the plans.”

Danse clenched his fists at his side and quickly left. If she was in danger, he would need help. He hated to admit it, but he needed to contact her friends throughout the Commonwealth.

He sat at his desk and furiously wrote three letters. He sealed them and looked down at Dogmeat. “I need you to deliver these to Preston, Nick, and Hancock. I need to stay here in case she comes back, but they need to know what's happening. Can you do this?” Dogmeat barked happily and scratched at his door. 

Danse took Dogmeat to the airport where he ran off into the distance. He prayed he wouldn't need their help, and he left specific instructions for each of them. Preston was to report to The Castle so he was close, and have Hancock and Nick meet him there. He wasn't on good terms with the, but he hoped they would come for Genevieve.

\--------------------

The fluorescent lights were blinding as she appeared in a very clean, white room. Genevieve drew her weapon and took in her surroundings. The furniture looked brand new and flowers still had their color in their vases.

_ I made it… _

She slowly made her way to the outer glass wall and glanced down below her. Hundreds of people on clean lab coats walked below her. She peered down at them, confused. They obviously weren't aware of her arrival. She didn't see stairs to go anywhere, only an elevator was in the room.

“I knew you would come, though I didn't know when,” a voice spoke to her through the intercom. Genevieve pointed her pistol in all directions around her. “Do not worry. No one here will harm you. Just step into the elevator and we can speak. My name is Father.”

_ Father? What the fuck? _

Genevieve hesitated. She had already been tricked once already and she didn't want to be again. She almost didn't listen, but she figured she had nothing to lose and entered the elevator. It went up automatically, and she saw the people stare at her as she rose in the glass elevator.

The door opened and she checked all of her surroundings before she slowly exited into another room. It was just as clean as the last room she had been in. She went through the doorway and felt her heart plummet to the floor.

In a glass room, was Shaun. She ran to the window and banged on the glass to get his attention, startling the little boy inside.

“Shaun!” She cried out. “I'm getting you out of here!” She attempted to pry the doors open with her fingers.

“Who are you?” The little boy asked, backing into the corner.

“I know it's been a long time, Shaun. I'm your mom! I've been looking for you!”

“Who's Shaun?...Father! Father, help me!” 

She froze as a door opened and an older man stepped out. He spoke some words and she saw the little boy go limp before her.

“You bastard! What did you do to my little boy?” Genevieve growled at the man as she drew her gun.

“I apologise. That is not your son. He is a synth made to look like him,” the man spoke calmly. “I did not mean to confuse you. My name is Father and I am in charge here.”

“In charge? You created him?” Genevieve felt a headache coming on as she spoke to the man.

“There are no easy ways to put this and time is of the essence. I am Shaun.”

“You're what?” She was horrified by his claim. There was no way that this man could be Shaun. “Bullshit!”

“It's up to you to believe me, or not. The fact is that I was kidnapped from your husband's arms sixty two years ago.”

“But...but the Shaun that I saw...He-he was ten…”

“Sixty years passed between when I was kidnapped and you were permanently unfrozen. I was brought here by Mr. Kellogg and I have worked my way to where I am today.”

“So you-you  _ are _ the Institute?”

“In a sense. Many others helped build this before me; I have only helped make it into my own vision.”

Genevieve paused as she took in all that he had said. She felt nauseous and quickly ran yo a garbage can to hurl. She felt his hand on her back as she wiped her mouth and looked up to him.

“Is it really you? Because if you are lying, I swear to God…”

“If I wasn't, how would I know all of this?” She knew he was right as the vomited into the garbage can again. “I have quarters set up for you just below mine. Go and clean up. I invite you to visit with all of the heads of my department. Familiarize yourself with the Institute. We have nothing to hide. After you are done, come and meet with me again. We have much catching up to do.” 

He smiled as he turned and went back into the room that he came from. She glanced back at the young boy who was still limp. She shuddered and went to the room Father had set up for her.

This was too much for her to take in. She splashed water on her face and stared into the mirror. That wasn't Shaun. Shaun was a sweet boy who would only want good for the world. He was not Father who insisted on hiding it from everyone who could use it. There had to be a reason and she needed to find out.


	18. Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genevieve has a hard time dealing with her emotions after her first visit to the Institute.

Danse was woken from his sleep from the nightmares. He shook as he grabbed the glass of water next to his bed. The dreams weren't about Cutler anymore; it was Genevieve. 

In his dream she had made it to the Institute and was shot down immediately as he watched, unable to help her. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. No matter what he did, he couldn't get to her as she bled out on the floor. Her lifeless eyes were always the last thing he saw before he woke up.

He decided that some fresh air might help him clear his mind as he flew a vertibird down to the airport. The crisp morning air felt good on his hot skin as he walked around the sleepy base. She had been gone for three days and he saw the preparations that Maxson had ordered being done. It made him sick to think that she may not make it back and he shuddered at the thought. 

He was certain that something must have gone wrong. She would have found some way to contact them if everything was alright. He would have known. He looked up at the clear sky and felt electricity in the air. He paused as it became more intense and he began to run. A giant flash came from just ahead of him and he ran faster. 

_ Genevieve... _

He skidded into the clearing to see Genevieve appear back on the platform. She didn't look at him when she came and she seemed frozen in time. He ran up to her, calling out her name. When she looked up to him, there was a feral look in her eyes as she grit her teeth.

“Genevieve, are you ok?” He asked as he neared her. He went to place his hand on her shoulder but she smacked it away. “Genevieve?” He was hurt, but he was more worried about her. Something must have happened to her there.

She turned from his gaze and took off in a sprint across the airport. He took off after her, calling out her name, hoping he wouldn't wake anyone up in the process. She ran for the beach and into the water and screamed.

“Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!!” She shouted as she tossed a rock as far out into the water as she could. “That fucking bastard!!!!”

She kicked at the water and slapped it until the strength had left her and she collapsed into the water. Danse ran out to her, splashing water as he went, and held onto her as she started crying. She gripped his shirt and pulled him closer to her as she sobbed uncontrollably. He held her tight and rested his head on hers. Weakly, she hit his chest and cried out in frustration. “That bastard…” She wept.

Danse picked her up out of the water and carried her to shore, cradling her close to his chest. He needed to get her inside, but he didn't want to alert anyone to her arrival, yet. He could tell that she needed time before she spoke about anything having to do with the Institute.

She seemed to know what he was thinking as she tried to suppress her audible crying as he carried her towards the vertibird he had flown down. He gently sat her down and flew back to The Prydwen. He waited until the guards weren't looking before he slipped inside and made his way to his room. He sat her down on his bed and ran to get her a blanket. She shivered from the water, tears still streaming down her face.

He draped a blanket across her shoulder and unfolded the towel he has gathered. He took tendrils of her hair and began to dry them as she stared blankly in front of her. He had never seen her like this before. The Institute must have been worse than he could have imagined. He was just glad that she made it out, and was alive.

He knelt down in front of her and wiped her face with the towel. Her eyes slowly met his as he spoke. “I going to get you some dry clothes, ok? Stay here; you're safe.” She gave a slight nod and he sighed as he ran out the door to get her dry clothes.

When he returned, she hadn't moved. She still sat there staring into space. “Genevieve, you need to change your clothes before you get sick.”

She continued to stare into nothing and he rubbed his the back of his neck in frustration. He sighed and took the wet blanket from her. “I'm going to help you, if that's alright.” Again, she nodded slightly and he began to lift her shirt over her head, careful not to look down as he brought her shirt and bra up and replaced them with a dry t-shirt. She stood and he slowly removed her wet jeans that had plastered themselves to her legs. 

He quickly grabbed a dry blanket to cover her up before he pulled her underwear down. She lightly stepped out of them and into the dry underwear and shorts he had brought to replace them. 

When she was settled in her dry clothes, he went to lay her down. She gripped him, once again, and pulled him close. “Don't leave me...you're all I have left,” she whispered with a trembling voice.

“Let me get out of my wet clothes, first. I'll be right back…”

After he had changed, Danse sighed and crawled into bed with her. He held her close as she began to cry again, clawing at him as if he were slipping away. “I will never leave you, again...I promise…” He whispered. This was a promise he intended to keep this time.

He held her close and drew small circles on her back with his thumbs as she buried her head in his chest. Her hair smelled of seaweed and salt water from her outburst. He has never seen anyone react to anything like she did tonight. _ M _

_ My God...what was in The Institute? _


	19. Nineteen

~~~~

Danse waited on top of the hill for Genevieve to catch up. He was taking her to The Castle, away from the Prydwen for a while. He had convinced Maxson that she needed a break after they got the information out of her. She didn't speak for two days when she came back. Even then, all she did was hand the holotape over and told them where The Institute was located.

He didn't think it would be underground, but it made sense. She didn't say anything more to him, but he knew there was more to the story. He hoped to help her by getting her away from Maxson and the others who were harassing her for information. She shut down whenever anyone tried asking her about it.

“Why are we going to The Castle?” She asked him when it came into view. She was talking more than before, but she wasn't like she used to be.

“To meet up with some friends of yours,” Danse smirked.

Upon entering the Castle, he heard a loud shout from above, “The General's here!”

Preston came from the radio transmitter and held his hand out to Danse. “I want to thank you for contacting us. I'm glad to see things worked out alright, in the end “

Danse shook it and was about to say something when he heard Genevieve gasp. “Hancock? Nick?” She ran over to them and hugged them. “What are you doing here?”

“Your boy toy sent for us,” Hancock chuckled. “He wanted a plan in place of you didn't come back.”

Danse had kept Maxson's plan to attack, whether she was stuck there or not, a secret for the time being. He wanted to be sure she was alright before he said anything to her. Luckily, the others did the same.

“Blue!” A woman's voice called out from a distance. Danse looked to see a woman in a red trench coat run up and hug Genevieve.

“Piper!” Genevieve looked at everyone before her eyes landed on Danse. “How did you?”

“This young man sent us all letters to meet here,” Nick explained. “I informed Piper and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.”

Danse watched as Genevieve's eyes gazed into his from across the way. He smiled at her and was about to leave her to be with her friends when she started running towards him. He wasn't sure what was happening, but before he could react she jumped into his arms and crashed her lips onto his.

She hugged his waist with her legs and held his face to hers with soft, tender hands that trembled. He caught her and held her up, in shock of what was happening between them. Realization caught up with him as he relaxed into her and kissed her back; one hand trailing up her back and he nestled his fingers into her hair.

Her lips were as soft and warm as he had imagined. Her body molded into his perfectly as he held onto her light, lean form. She smelled of coconut and lemons as the wind blew her hair around his face.

They parted and gazed at each other as they caught their breaths. He saw life coming back to her eyes and he smiled at her. She held his face in her hands once more and whispered, “Thank you, Danse.” She loosened her grip around his hips and they both looked to see their crew staring at them.

Hancock took a breath to speak, but Piper punched him in the gut before anything could come out. She smiled and ushered everyone away saying that there was nothing to see. She winked at them as they walked away.

Genevieve turned back to Danse and was blushing. “I'm...That was…” She stammered.

“Sudden?” Danse finished her sentence.

“I'm sorry!” She quickly spat out and covered her face. “This isn't what I had planned, at all.”

Danse removed her hands from her face and held them. “You said you got my letter.”

“Your letter didn't say this is what you wanted…”

“I wasn't sure what I wanted…” Danse told her as he peered into her eyes. “But I do know I liked that.”

She smiled up at him, shyly. “Me too.”

“We can talk later. You go and see your friends, they missed you.”

She looked over her shoulder and then back to him. “Come with me?”

Danse hesitated for a moment before taking her hand as she led him across the way where Piper hollered in excitement. Danse felt the uncomfortable glare on his back from Preston, Hancock, and Nick, but he tried to ignore it as Genevieve introduced him to Piper.

\---------------------

Genevieve was happy for the first time in a long time. Her smile began to reach her eyes, and she laughed genuinely with her friends as the dark of night came in. Her friends would be leaving on the morning, so she bid them goodnight as they made it to their respective beds for the night.

She looked at Danse and bit her lip as he gazed at her. She needed to tell him about The Institute, about Shaun, but she just wanted to be happy for a little while longer. She wanted to be with her friends, and Danse; not the depression that was knocking on the door of her mind.

“Genevieve?” Danse's voice brought her back to reality and she saw the concern on his face. “What's wrong?”

“I'm not...I don't want to talk about it, yet,” she choked out as she wiped her eyes. She felt that all was lost. She had begun that s journey to get Shaun back and now she never would. “I will tell you, just not tonight.”

“Alright,” he said as he stood. “We should get some rest as well.”

She nodded and they made their way to The General's Quarters. They had made up an extra bed for Danse and it made her smile. He had actually sent out to her friends for help. She could only imagine the amount of courage that took him; sending for a ghoul and a synth.

She crawled under the blankets and felt the darkness envelope her. She laid there, awake, for hours. Danse's even breathing told her that he was asleep, so she crawled back out of bed and down to the cellar.

The vodka was calling her name before she had even gotten there. All she needed was something to help her sleep and to forget what pain she was feeling. She picked up the bottle and saw a box of Mentats next to it. Mentats were meant to reduce pain; maybe they would help with emotional pain as well. She grabbed the box and headed out the entrance of The Castle towards the shore.

She plopped herself down in the sand and looked up to the stars as she opened the bottle. She popped a few Mentats in her mouth and washed them down with the clear, vodka. She closed her eyes and felt the warm relaxation begin to warm her chest as the vodka made its way down.

She took another drink but she still felt the pain. How could the little boy she had given birth to be so heartless? He thought he was doing good by having all of the technology, but he could share it with the Commonwealth and make it a better place. Instead, he was selfish and kept it to himself.

She popped a few more Mentats and washed them down with the vodka. Maxson would have her destroy The Institute; destroy Shaun. The thought was more than she could bare. Even though so much time had passed, he was still her son. He was her flesh and blood. She needed to know who he was now, but she didn't know if she could face him again. With him lost, what else did she have to live for?

In frustration, she took the rest of the Mentats and finished the bottle of vodka. Hopefully the pain would finally subside because it was too much for her. Her goal in this new life was a failure and she didn't know what else to do. She laid herself down in the sand as silent tears streamed down her face. She finally felt the numbness take hold as she drifted into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally took a step in the right direction for Danse and Genevieve!!!


	20. Twenty

Danse woke up, startled. He looked into the darkness and saw Genevieve's bed empty and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Something will woke him up, but he wasn't sure what it was.

He left the room in search of Genevieve. He searched the grounds, but there was no sign of her. In a panic, he ran to wake Preston to help him find her. He wasn't sure where she would have gone, but Preston knew this Castle as well as she did. Preston woke Piper, Hancock, and Nick and they all began to search for her.

Danse gree concerned when he met up with Preston, Nick, and Piper in the courtyard to find out that they couldn't find her. “Where would she go?” Danse asked Preston.

“She's never disappeared like this, before,” Preston shrugged.

“Well, we gotta find her!” Piper said as she looked around her, frantically.

“Look there!” Nick pointed to the entrance where Hancock was running in with her limp body in his arms. The morning glow of the sun alerted them to her pale complexion.

Danse sprinted over to Hancock and asked where she was. “She was down on the beach,” Hancock replied. “Found an empty vodka bottle with and empty box of Mentats. She's overdosed, but she's alive. We need her to purge what's in her system.”

“How?” Danse asked. 

“Get purified water and Stimpaks. We're going to need them.”

Danse raced off to gather the supplies while Hancock carried her to the nearest bed. Danse was horrified when he came back to find Hancock's finger down her throat and he shoved him off.

“What the hell are you doing?” He shouted.

“She need to hurl it all up, Boy Toy! I'm trying to get her to do it. Do you mind?”

Hancock didn't wait for a response as he turned her to her side and proceeded. Danse looked away as she began to vomit the clear liquid and pills, still intact. He brought the water to her lips to coax her to drink, but she wouldn't.

“Here,” Hancock said as he grabbed the water and dumped it on her face. She flinched and moaned as she curled into a little ball on the bed. “The pills were still whole, so it won't be so bad. I'm sure her hangover will suck like shit, though.”

Preston walked up and injected a Stimpak into her and stood back. Genevieve continued to moan as she held her stomach.

“Why would she do this?” Piper asked. “I knew she drank, but never did drugs.”

“Mentats help with pain,” Hancock said as he sighed. “She's trying to drown something out.”

Everyone turned to Danse, but he had no answers. She hadn't told him anything about the Institute while she was there. He didn't even know if she had found Shaun. “Something bad must have happened at The Institute,” he finally told them. “That's the only thing that's changed.”

“Get her to talk,” Preston told him. “She needs to work through it and know she's not alone.”

Danse nodded and pulled a chair up next to her. Her moans had ceased and she lay there sleeping soundly. “She'll sleep it off for a bit,” Hancock explained. 

“How do you know all this?” Danse asked him.

“I overdosed once. I woke up like this.” He saw the panic in Danse's eyes and he attempted to reassure him that it was an experimental drug and Mentats wouldn't do it to her. “Give her a few hours and she will be alright.”

Danse sighed as he waited for her to wake up. Hancock, Nick, and Piper left after knowing Genevieve was going to be alright to head to their homes. Preston stayed to be sure she would come through alright. 

Danse stood when she began to stir and saw her eyes fluttering open. She groaned about her head and stomach hurting. She looked at Danse with confusion and asked him what happened.

“You decided to throw yourself a party last night,” he explained. “Vodka and Mentats were the party favors..”

He saw her eyes grow as she quickly looked around. Danse explained how Hancock found her and they took care of her. “Can you please tell me what's going on?” He looked at her, sternly.

“Danse...I…” She started, but she stopped.

“We are all here for you, Genevieve. You just need to tell me what's going on. What the hell happened in The Institute?”

He saw the color leave her face. After she took some water she began to explain the building and its technology. “I've never seen anything like it.”

“What about Shaun?”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she sniffled. “Shaun...He runs The Institute, Danse.”

He felt the wind get knocked out of him at her admittance. “That means…”

“He's responsible for all of this...I just-I couldn't handle it...I wanted the pain to disappear. I mean, what else I have left if Shaun is beyond hope?”

“What do you mean?” Danse was afraid of the answer she might give, but he needed to know.

“What good am I if i can't save my own son?” She shouted. “I failed! It doesn't even matter if I live, or die, because I can't get him back!”

“That's not true...It does matter…” Danse whispered.

“How? What do I have if I don't have Shaun?”

“Me, Genevieve. You have me.”

Sorrow filled her eyes once more. She must not have realized how much she meant to him and everyone else she knew.

“Genevieve, I can't even imagine what you are feeling, and frankly I'm horrible at talking about these things. I always end up making people feel worse, but you need to know how much you mean to us...to me.”

“Danse, I...I had no idea...I thought that the Brotherhood came first?”

“It does, but that doesn't mean that we can't see what's out there, right?” Danse was nervous as he looked into her hazel eyes. Finally, she smiled and took his hands.

“I think that, if you can be patient with me, we can definitely see what there is.” He saw her eyes twinkle as she smiled at him.

“I'll be patient with you for as long as you need.” She hugged him, then. The world seemed to stop for a moment as he thought about how happy this one woman made him and how he would move heaven and hell for her. She could be his, but he was already hers.

\--------------------

Genevieve gave Ronnie Shaw a few orders while Danse packed their gear. Genevieve was desperate to fix up the castle to avoid an attack on the settlers. Ronnie showed her that the walls were being rebuilt, just as she had asked. Genevieve was pleased with the process and dismissed Ronnie as Danse came to her with their bags.

“Are you ready to get back to The Prydwen?” She asked him.

“That depends,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

She had taken a few days after her incident to recover and get hydrated. The hangover from the drugs and alcohol was horrible and she promised Danse she wouldn't do it again. She didn't want to feel that agony.

“I'm feeling pretty good,” she smiled. “This break was just what i needed to straighten myself out.”

“I'm glad.” 

They exited the castle and Genevieve stopped when she saw The Prydwen in the distance. Near it was a giant robot staring at them. “What the hell is that?” She exclaimed.

“That is Liberty Prime,” Danse explained. “It will be our main weapon against The Institute. If anything can get us in there, it's him.”

Genevieve tried to forget about the Institute when she could. Before she had left, she tried pleading with Shaun to stop the madness. She was his mother, but he refused to listen to her. She begged for the little synth boy she had met; asking to free him from a life of control. She hadn't told dance about the synth boy; it just wasn't something she wanted to get into with him.

She found out how ruthless the coursers we're in retrieving the escaped Synths. They would kill them if they refused and they just wanted to live without being controlled. She knew that he wouldn't change his ways, but part of her could still hope. She promised him that she would come back after some time to think, but she wasn't sure when she could do it.

Maxson smiled when he saw them enter The Prydwen. Genevieve felt the nausea come back as he welcomed them back. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way.

“We are almost ready for our attack in The Institute,” Maxson told them. “I just need you two, and a group to go and get his nukes. His arsenol needs to be replenished.”

“Where to, sir?” Danse stepped forward.

“The Glowing Sea. Scouts are in the area and awaiting your commands. You will need to locate them within a pre-war bomb storage facility. Speak with Proctor Ingram about getting the transmitter and you two can leave immediately.”

Maxson turned without another word, signalling their dismissal. Danse and Genevieve found Proctor Ingram with Liberty Prime and Genevieve couldn't believe the size of the robot they'd be using.

It stood tall, up into the sky. She had seen it from the castle, but it was still bigger than she had imagined. Danse placed his hand on her shoulder to tell her he had the transmitter and that a Vertibird was waiting to take them to the building.

She climbed on the Vertibird and felt her stomach hit her toes as it rose into the air. She held her breath as she saw the edge of the Glowing Sea coming closer to them, and Danse handed her a Rad-X to prepare her body for the amount of radiation they we're about to come into contact with.

The Vertibird landed and they quickly made their way into the building. Genevieve was speechless as she looked around the giant building. It was so quiet inside. As they made their way down to the ground level, only a few Feral Ghouls were in their way.

They were quickly disposed of and Genevieve ran to place the transmitter on the stockpile of nukes. She turned around to see a smile in Danse's face as he congratulated her.

“You head back to The Prydwen and I'll make sure this gets to where it needs to go.”

“Come with me,” Genevieve smiled at him.

“I can't. I'm in charge of making sure only The Brotherhood intercepts this...Don't worry, I won't be far behind you.”

“I'll see you there,” Genevieve smiled as she kissed his cheek. She turned to leave, but Danse grabbed her hand causing her to spin around.

He gently grazed the backs of his fingers across her cheek and gazed into her eyes. She looked up to him as he spoke. “I know you're worried, and scared, but this will be over soon. Then we can do whatever we want.”

She leaned into his fingers and smiled. She felt the warmth of his hand flow through her. She knew how much she cared for this man and she didn't know what she would do without him. “I look forward to it,” she whispered as she kissed his fingers.

He pulled her in and kissed her gently. She sighed into his body and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers into his hair. “I'll be waiting for you at The Prydwen,” she said as she broke away with a smile.


	21. Twenty One

Genevieve hopped off of the Vertibird with a smile. She was finally getting somewhere in her new life and she was actually happy, for once. She was just beginning to get her footing on her relationship with Danse and the thought excited her. Her walls has come down and she was slowly testing the waters and he seemed just fine with it.

Right now, she couldn't wait to get the Institute over with so she could focus on the things that were important to her, now. Her friends; Piper, Nick, Preston, Hancock, and Danse. She wanted them to know how much they meant to her, even if they didn't know it.

As she made her way up the flight deck, everyone was giving her a strange look and she didn't understand why. Captain Kells met her before she entered and shouted out an order.

“Elder Maxson requires to see you _immediately_ , Knight.”

“Yes, sir,” Genevieve mumbled before entering the Prydwen. Scribes and Initiates ran around in a frenzy and she became more confused. Were they under attack? She swiftly made her way to Elder Maxson, and was met with a scowl. “You needed to see me?”

“Yes...And you have a lot of explaining to do, Knight,” he growled in her face.

“I'm sorry?” She could smell the Bourbon on his breath as he spoke and it made her sick to her stomach.

“We went through the data you retrieved from the Institute,” he began, still fuming and spitting at her. “It keeps a records of all Synths that they have created. One of them has matched up with one of our own.”

“How is that possible?”

“They are here to infiltrate us!” He slammed his fist down onto the table, causing the bottle of bourbon to spill onto the ground. His face was red and he was shaking; Genevieve had never seen him so upset. “One of my most trusted men and _you_ have kept his secret!”

“Before you go pointing fingers, _sir_ , I'd really appreciate it if you explained what's going on!” She growled back at him. “I will not be accused of treason so easily.”

She locked eyes with a man that stood almost a foot taller than she did. She didn't back down until he spoke one name. “Danse.”

Genevieve felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. “That...it can't be…”

Maxson must have seen how pale she had gone at his name because his face softened towards her. “We traced the dna and it's a perfect match. Danse is a traitor and needs to be terminated.”

“He needs to be _what_!?” She felt her face going hot as she stared at him. She must have heard him wrong; he wouldn't want Danse to die.

“He's a synth! An abomination! He has taken off on us! He's fleeing because he knows that we found out!”

“After all the shit he's done for you, you are going to turn on him just like that?” It was her turn to growl at him, now. She couldn't believe that Maxson was so quick to turn on his own.

“For all we know, he was pretending to be loyal!”

“That's bullshit and you know it!”

“Let's go and have a third party tell you. Quinlan is who found the results…” Maxson sighed. “At least I'm sure that you honestly didn't know, judging from your reaction...Get the story from Quinlan and come back to me.”

Genevieve stormed out and began to make her way down to see Quinlan. The fact that he confirmed it, and showed her the facts, made her heart sink. She left quinlan's office and leaned against the wall, fighting the tears.

_I need to find him_.

She quickly ran up the ladder and burst into the command deck. “We need to find him,” she exclaimed. She needed to keep her cool, now. If he suspected that she wasn't on board with him, he would send an assassination team of some kind out for Danse. “Let me go after him.”

“Let me make myself clear, Knight,” Maxson stared her down. “When you find him, you execute him. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” She swallowed the giant lump in her throat as she saluted the man who was sending her out to kill the person she cared for most in this world. She was Disturbed when Scribe Haylen ran in, begging Maxson to reconsider.

He was as harsh with her as he had been with Genevieve and she felt bad for her. Genevieve kept a stoic face as Haylen begged her for Danse's life. When she didn't respond, she offered information to help find Danse.

Genevieve followed the short woman down to the belly of The Prydwen where she turned on her, sharp. “How could you?” Haylen exclaimed. “How could you be so willing to go out and kill Danse after what he's done for you?” Genevieve didn't say anything. She knew there would be ears on her until she left and she couldn't risk being pulled off the mission to find him.

“You may not realize it,” Haylen continued. “But he cares about you more than he does anyone else. He's never had that, before. Just, please, tell me you'll at least hear him out? I know you care for him too.” Genevieve gave her a brisk nod and Haylen caught the hint. She cleared her throat and told Genevieve of an old, abandoned bunker that they knew of. She believed Danse to be there. Genevieve thanked her for the information and left.

She didn't know what she was going to face when she got there, but she prayed that Danse was alright. She knew he wasn't a threat to anyone and she would move heaven and hell to find him.

\--------------------

_As the minutes tick by and I stare at the walls of this godforsaken place, I'm still trying to cope with the reality that I am a living lie._

This couldn't be real. Danse felt numb inside as he stared at the ceiling above him; he prayed for some kind of miracle.

What memories did he have that were real? Is this why he could never remember his parents? Was the Institute so heartless that they couldn't be bothered to even input some basic memories?

_My identity as Paladin Danse is nothing but a memory now. Everything I held dear, everything I've ever believed in is completely gone._

Gone...The Brotherhood. Elder Maxson…. _Genevieve_...She would never be able to look at him the same way. He was sure she had been told by now. The very thought of him probably made her want to vomit, now. He felt his body begin to shake as he remembered his last interaction with her; she said she'd wait for him. He made her a liar and that was even worse. He'd never come back to her. He would never see her again and that was the thought that killed him the most.

He'd give anything to run his fingers through her soft, long, brown hair again. To taste her sweet kiss as she left him for The Prydwen was a distant memory, now, along with the warmth of her skin as he held her.

When he heard the radio frequency come on ordering his execution, he stared at the Lancer that was picking up the nukes. The Lancer paled as he relayed the information to Danse and told him to run. The Lancer told him he would say he had already left when he heard the transmission. Danse was turning his friends against everything that they believed in, and it was wrong.

_I've spent far too long wondering why this happened to me, but the truth is, it doesn't matter. I am a synth... which means I am freak of nature, a perversion of science and an example of where mankind has gone wrong._

Danse felt that he needed to live, and die, by example. He was the very thing that had appalled him all these years. How had he not known? Danse's body performed just as a human body, would. He needed to eat, drink, sleep, and breath just like everyone else.

Danse stared down at the pistol in his hands. He shifted it from each of his hands as these thoughts raced through his mind. He opened the barrel to see it was fully loaded and he sighed as he closed it.

_For the benefit of humanity, I need to die. Not because I'm cowardly or despondent, but because it's the human thing to do. Genevieve, I hope one day you will forgive me and know I truly thought what I felt was real. I'm sorry, Genevieve...maybe in another lifetime..._

Danse shook as he placed the tip of the gun to his head; his finger shook as it rested lightly on the trigger. He needed to do this before someone came for him. He paused for a moment as a thought went through his mind. Was he being a coward in doing it himself and not allowing the Brotherhood to do it?

His questioned was answered when he heard the elevator begin to hum to life. Someone was already here. He kept the pistol close to his Temple and waited. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he watched the elevator doors wondering who would come through the doors.

His heart sunk to the ground when he saw Genevieve's black hat come through the doors. He expected to see anger on her face as she looked around for him, but he saw panic. Her cheeks were tear stained and she looked a mess, but he still thought she was beautiful.

He saw her eyes lock with his and the color left her face. He was still sitting with the pistol to his temple and his finger on the trigger. A tear streamed down his cheek as she started to run to him; pushing the junk out of the way and jumping over demolished desks.

_This is Danse, former Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel, signing off._


	22. Twenty Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the late updates! With the holidays, everything got very busy! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it!!

Genevieve paced in the elevator as it went down. She had no idea what she would even do if she found Danse, but she needed to see him. He needed to know that he wasn't the abomination he believed all Synths to be.

The door opened and she quickly looked around it. The bunker was filled with trash and flipped over furniture. She scanned the area until the sight she saw terrified her.

Danse stood in the window of a room. His eyes were locked on her as he rested the pistol to his head. She couldn't get there fast enough. She pushed the worn, red chair out of her way and lept over the desk that was overturned in the middle of the room. She ran to the doorway and saw his eyes had followed her, but the gun hadn't moved.

“Danse…” She breathed. Her hands shook as she held them up to show him she was unarmed. She slowly took off her armor, revealing the flannel shirt and jeans she wore underneath. She saw confusion flicker across his face as he watched her armor slide across the floor. “Please…”

“I'm sorry, Genevieve,” he told her with a quiet, quivering voice. “I didn't know you'd be sent…”

Genevieve saw a tear fall from his eye and she took a gentle step forward. He tensed more with each step she took, but she needed to get to him. That was her goal and she wouldn't stop until she was in front of him.

“Danse, please...Don't do this…” She choked out. 

He stared at her for what seemed like forever. The anguish in his face was heartbreaking and she wanted to soothe him any way possible. She reached her hand out to him and waited for him. She knew that if she touched him first, he would react negatively. She needed to know he still trusted her.

“It's ok,” he whispered to her. “I'm ok with this…”

“I'm not, Danse…” She felt the tears begin to pool in her eyes. “There has to be another way…”

“There isn't...I'm a filthy, godless creature…”

“No you're not!” She interrupted him. “You are the kindest person I know!”

“Damnit, Genevieve, I'm not a person!” She saw the anger and anguish flare in his eyes. “I was created by the Institute; everything I'm against.”

“Then help me, Danse...Please, I can't do this without you…”

“What do you expect me to do? Hide for the rest of my life? They will kill  _ you _ for letting me go and I can't bare to even contemplate that…”

“I'll find a way, Danse. Please, I need you. I need you more than I've ever needed anyone in my life.” Danse studied her for a long time. His stone face stared into her eyes that were wet with tears. “Please, just give me the gun, Danse…”

After deliberation, he finally sighed and handed her the gun. She set it down on the desk and threw her arms around his neck. He hesitated, just letting her hang on her own for a few moments before he wrapped his arms around her waist. She cried into his shoulder tears of relief. 

He pushed her away gently and stared into her eyes. “I didn't think you'd want to see me ever again,” he said, unsure. “I-I had no idea Maxson would send you after me.”

“I told him I wanted to come. I needed to be the one to find you.”

“How did you even know where I was?”

“Scribes Haylen told me about it. She guessed that you might be here.”

“This doesn't change what I am...I can't go back to the Brotherhood...I have nothing left…”

“Danse...you have me…” She cradled his face in her hands as she gazed into his eyes. “Just because you're a synth doesn't change how I feel about you.”

“It doesn't?” She saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes.

“No...I will help you through this, if you let me.”

“Alright,” Danse sighed and took off his holotags.

“What are you doing?”

“You'll need some way of showing Maxson that you found me and...executed me. This is how he will know.” She took the tags in her hands and looked up to him. He didn't smile, but he placed his hand in the small of her back. “I'll walk you out and then wait for you here.”

She nodded and they made their way to the elevator. She felt the tension as the elevator climbed the level up to the ground floor. He let her go first and they were frozen when they saw what was waiting for them outside.

\------------

* * *

> \--------

He knew that Maxson wouldn't trust her to do it alone. Danse pulled Genevieve behind him, protectively, as he glared at Maxson. Maxson was out of breath and was red with anger.

“You've betrayed us!” Maxson growled. “You're letting that  _ thing live? _ ”

Before Danse could stop her, Genevieve ran out in front of him. “He's not a thing!” She snarled back. “This man has been more loyal to you than anyone else. You owe him that much!”

“I don't owe him anything…”

“Genevieve, it's alright,” Danse placed his hand in her shoulder. “Maxson, I had no idea I was a synth until you found out. I know what needs to be done.”

“Danse!” Genevieve shrieked.

“Genevieve, I want you to know that I have no regrets.” He began to reach out for her, but Maxson interrupted him.

“You lies mean nothing to me! You're a machine! How can you feel anything?”

“Hear him out you selfish bastard!” Genevieve shouted and it made Danse twitch.

“Alright. I'm listening. What are your last words?”

Danse reflected on all that had happened to him in the Brotherhood. “When I saw my comrades die, I felt pain and sorrow. And when I saw us win, I felt pride. I don't know how, but I did.”

“There is more than one way out of this!” Genevieve exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” Maxson asked her.

“You can walk away, Maxson... Tell everyone that he's dead and they won't have to worry about a synth being in their ranks again.”

“Why would I even fathom doing such a thing?”

“You owe him, Maxson! Danse has saved your life on numerous occasions. Don't tell me that's a lie…”

Danse was shocked at her outburst, but he admired her for it. She was sticking to what she felt was right, just as he had done all his life. The thought of losing her terrified him, as much as it did her to lose him.

He looked back to Maxson, who was fuming. She had gotten to him. Maxson didn't like owing anyone debts, especially if it was to a synth. 

“Very well…” Maxson said. “Let me make myself clear, you are no longer a member of the Brotherhood, synth. If my brothers see you, you will be shot on sight do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Danse couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“Knight, say your goodbyes and report back immediately. We have work to do.”

Maxson turned and stalked away. Danse felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but he was also sad. He didn't know what he would do. As he entered the living quarters of the bunker, he looked around at the mess. Genevieve started cleaning it up right away, but he couldn't. This room represented his life, right now. An unmanageable, disarray of shit. He leaned up against the wall and stared into nothing.

“Danse?” Genevieve stood with a stack of soiled papers in her hands. She set them down and walked over to him and touched his cheek. Her fingers were wet, and now he realized that he was crying.

He felt his knees buckled under him and he slid to the floor against the wall. Genevieve followed him to the ground and held him as his silent tears dampened her shirt. All he could do was keep apologising as she rubbed his back.

Everything was a lie. He had killed many Synths in his lifetime; he wondered how many were like him. Maybe they had just recently found out and were trying to piece together a life for themselves. Had he escaped the Institute like others? He didn't know and that was painful.

He wiped his eyes and began to stand. He looked at Genevieve and saw the concern in her eyes. “I need to take a few minutes to myself,” he explained. “I'm going to go for a walk; I'll be back.” He quickly entered the elevator and watched her through the doors as they closed. He had never seen such concern in her hazel eyes, before.

\--------------------

Genevieve watched the elevator close it's doors on Danse's sad, lost expression on his face. She ran her fingers through her hair as she gazed around at the mess that still remained within the bunker. She started to straighten up once again, flipping the desk back to its original state and moving it out off the way.

She continued on making her way to the room where she had found Danse. She didn't know if she would ever get the image of him with the gun yo his head out of her mind. She had never been so scared in her life.

She was grateful that she talked him out of it, but she still worried about his present state of mind. He was so close to ending it himself instead of waiting to listen to reason. He was more human than most people she had met since coming into this new life and he needed to see that. Still, she understood that he needed time to process things. It couldn't be easy for him, right now.

After she had made the bed up, she made her way over to the desk in the room. She cleared old papers out of the way and found a holotape. When she picked it up, she saw that there was no writing on it to identify it, so she popped it into her pip boy.

_ As the minutes tick by and I stare at the walls of this godforsaken place, I'm still trying to cope with the reality that I am a living lie. _

Genevieve's blood ran cold when she heard Danse's voice. What was this? As she continued to listen, she realized that it was a suicide tape, and she covered her mouth with her hand to hold back a cry. When she heard her name, she held her breath. He wanted forgiveness. For what? Being a synth or for killing himself?

She suddenly realized that she had let him go out on his own and she felt her heart race as the panic set in. What if he went off alone to finish it off? She jumped and ran towards the elevator, pushing the button over and over again. She pleaded with it to move faster and ran inside the empty shaft once the doors opened.

She took off in a sprint out of the door once it opened on the ground level. She needed to find Danse no matter what it took. She ran up the hill by the bunker and was relieved to find him sitting on top of a hill overlooking the ruins below. She slowed down and walked over to him. 

Danse didn't look at her as she sat down next to him and hugged her knees to her chest. She peered down at her muddy, knee high boots and started picking the mud off, absentmindedly, with a stick. She was content sitting in silence with Danse; he was alive and that's what mattered to her.

“I didn't know that this is where my life would end up,” Danse finally spoke. She looked up to him as he let out a heavy sigh. “I contemplated leaving the Commonwealth and making my way towards the border as fast as I could...but I can't…” 

“What do you mean?” She asked him as the wind blew her hair across her face.

“Well, you still need help...Unless you don't want me around anymore, I'll be damned if I'm going to let you walk the Commonwealth alone.”

“Danse, I would never send you away.” She rested her hand on his arm and she felt him tense under her. “I still need you. You are important to me. I just think I need to take a different approach to things.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have some friends that we need to get in contact with. I'll send them a message to meet with me and I would like you to come with.”

“Who are these friends?”

“They are The Railroad.”

“The Railroad? You never mentioned having ties to The Railroad,” he suddenly exclaimed as his face grew red. “We could have used Intel on them!”

“Danse, I only did a few things for them. They decoded the Courser Chip for me to get into the Institute.”

“If Elder Maxson finds out, he will dismiss you from The Brotherhood or kill you! Do you understand that?” He seemed to grow angrier the more she explained and she didn't want to argue with him, not now.

“Let me just put a message out and see what we can do. Everything will be alright, I promise.”

Danse looked away from her and stood up. “You should report back to Maxson.”

“No, I won't,” she stood and stared at him. “I'm staying with you.”

“If you stay here he will send someone for you and they will find me. I'll stay here and make The Bunker more liveable...I just don't want your life ruined as well.”

“Danse…” 

She tried to talk to him but he held up his hand to signal the end of the conversation. He looked at the ground as he slowly made his way back to the bunker. She followed him to retrieve her things from the basement level.

Once she had packed her things in uncomfortable silence, she turned to him and sighed. “I'll be back as soon as possible, Danse.” He didn't look at her as he nodded and she walked over and turned his head to face her. “Promise me you'll be alright while I'm gone?”

She saw the confusion flash across his face, as well as panic. “I will be fine. I'll wait here for your return.” His voice was flat, but part of her believed him. She smiled and kissed his cheek lightly before going back to the elevator. She was worried about him, but he was right. She needed to go and report to Maxson before anyone got suspicious about Danse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Kudos and Comments are amazing!


	23. Twenty Three

Maxson looked grumpier than normal when Genevieve entered his office. She stood firm and glared at him as he made clear he was angry with her. “Let me make this clear, this will be the last we speak of that thing...You pursued him and executed him yourself and his remains were incinerated. Do we understand each other?”

“I will never understand, but I can go along with it,” Genevieve bit her lip as she spoke.

“Whatever. You'll be pleased to know that there is now an opening in the ranks. An opening that you will take as Paladin. All of his personal items, including his power armor, are now yours.”

“Body isn't even cold, yet, and you're divvying out the goods? How heartless could you be?”

“This isn't my choice, Paladin. Powers above me have made the decision to do this. If it were up to me, you'd be retiring right now to never return.” Genevieve rolled her eyes and he sighed. “At least tell me that you're still against the Institute with us?”

“That is one thing we can agree on.”

“Good. Let's keep talk to that, then. We still have work to do before our assault. Take some time and get acquainted with your new quarters. Report to Captain Kells when you're ready.”

Genevieve left without a word and went straight to Danse's room. She shut the door and realized that she had never really looked around his room the previous times she had been there. The Brotherhood flag hung above his headboard on the wall and parts of his Brotherhood armor were scattered throughout the room.

She went to his desk and sat down, looking at his last reports that had been approved and sent back to him for filling. She moved through them until she found pieces of paper that had random writing on it. She assumed it was scratch paper, but she found her name among the scribbles.

She smiled as she looked at it and wiped a tear from her eye. She gazed around his room once more and jumped into action. She began packing, what looked like, personal items that Danse may want back. She took down his flag and placed it inside a box on the table. She gathered his clothes and set them on top of it, but not before taking his flannel shirt in her hands and inhaling his scent.

The smell of metal, gas, and campfire was calming as she continued to search the drawers of his desk. She opened one and saw a unique looking star sitting inside a perfectly clean glass box. She wasn't sure what it was, but packed it in with some other things and quickly made her way to the power armor.

Everyone saluted her as she walked by and congratulated her on a good job eliminating Danse. It made her sick to think that these people once looked up to him. She paled when Carmen began to walk her way with a somber look.

“I'm sorry about, Danse,” she spoke quietly. “I can't imagine how hard that was for you.”

“I have to go,” Genevieve quickly spoke and tried to get past her. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about and she didn't want to lie to Carmen.

“Wait,” Carmen blocked her way. “Know you can talk to me, alright? I'm not him, but I can try.”

Genevieve glanced back at her and softened. “If there is anything I need, you'll be the first to know. I trust you, but I really need to get going.”

“Of course, Paladin. I'll be here!” Carmen smiled immediately and let Genevieve pass with no more questions.

Genevieve was relieved until Proctor Ingram stopped her after she had placed the box inside the power armor that used to be Danse's.

“Paladin,” she spoke. “There is a matter I wish to discuss with you.”

“I'm not particularly in the mood, right now, Proctor,” Genevieve said as she opened the back of the power armor. She paused before entering and felt dread wash over her as Proctor Ingram continued to speak.

“It has come to my attention that a faction that calls themselves the railroad has interesting technology at their hands. I'd appreciate it if you could get me some more information on it.”

“I'll see what I can do,” she quickly said as she took the plunge in the the power armor. Genevieve turned up the music in the speakers to drown everyone else out as she swiftly made her way back to the flight deck. She needed to send her message to The Railroad and now it had just gotten more complicated.

\--------------------

Danse pulled the trigger and brought down the mole rat in one shot. The bunker wasn't stocked with fresh food so he needed to get it himself. He also had found a reliable water source close by to filter water through. It had been a long time since he had needed to fend for himself like this, but he couldn't risk being seen walking towards a caravan, especially alone.

He was having trouble keeping himself busy while he waited for Genevieve to return. She had been gone for a week and he grew more worried every day she was gone. She had said she would be back, but he also knew how ruthless Maxson could be about his rules. He could threaten her with death if she came back to him.

Danse tried not to think about it as he skinned the mole rats outside the doors of the bunker. He wasn't even sure where he and Genevieve stood anymore. He didn't even know where he stood with himself. He had been patient with her when she needed it, would she be patient with him? He wasn't sure if he wanted her to wait around for him.

Of course he dreamed she would, but he was a mess right now. He hadn't realized how much he effected those around him until just recently. He had received a message back from Haylen and she couldn't describe how relieved she was to hear that he was alright. He certainly hadn't expected any of these outcomes.

He entered the basement level of the bunker and threw the cleaned mole rat meat onto the stove to cook it. He hadn't cooked in a long time and he forgot how much he actually enjoyed it. His meals had always been prepared for him in The Prydwen so he usually didn't have the need to actually cook.

He was going stir crazy waiting for Genevieve to come back. He had cleaned up the bunker to liveable conditions within the first day of her being gone. After that, he spent his time tinkering on his weapons and the little armor he had left. He wondered who would take his power armor; the Brotherhood wouldn't let it go to waste. The thought made him sick to his stomach, but he knew that this was his life now. He needed to come to accept it and power through, no matter how hard it seemed.

Nights were the worst for him and he hardly slept. His nightmares had changed again. This time, he was an Institute Synth sent to kill Genevieve for getting too close to their plans. He was never able to wake himself before he pulled the trigger as she begged him to let her live. He tried to stay awake as much as possible, but his body still required sleep.

He sat down at the table that he had cleaned off and bit into his mole rat steak. It lacked the seasonings he would have liked to have, but it was just fine for now. At least he would have a full stomach as he continued to wait.

\--------------------

_ Genevieve pressed the button and the wall opened up. She held onto her pistol tightly, unsure of what was behind it. She slowly made her way through the tunnel and was met by two men and a woman who ordered her to stop where she was. Genevieve listened, but kept a firm grip on her gun. _

_ “You've obviously done a lot of work to get here,” the woman spoke harshly. “How did you find us?” _

_ “Well, the trail wasn't hard to follow, if that's what you're meaning,” Genevieve told her. _

_ “What I mean, is why are you here?” _

_ “Honestly? I'm just a wanderer trying to find my son.” _

_ “Your son is missing? Raiders?” _

_ “No, some people in white clean suits took him.” _

_ “Hmm...sounds like it could be the Institute.” _

_ “Everyone keeps mentioning the Institute but nobody will fucking tell me what it is!” _

_ The woman seemed surprised by Genevieve's outburst. It wasn't until a man in sunglasses walked around the corner with a smile that she seemed to lighten her mood. _

_ “Whoa! You're her!” He beamed. _

_ “What does that mean?” The woman asked him. _

_ “This lady is kind of a big deal, out there. She's the General of the Minutemen and has been spreading peace on the Commonwealth.” _

_ “How do you know that?” Genevieve asked. _

_ “The names Deacon, and it's my job. I spy around and see what the going on is. This is Desdemona and you have successfully found the Railroad.” _

_ “What the fuck, Deacon?” Desdemona snapped. _

_ “Hey, now, I'll vouch for her. She's one we'd want with us and not as an enemy.” _

_ Desdemona looked Genevieve up and down with a curled lip. She took a long drag of her cigarette and pondered what to do. “She can't be too dangerous. She's too pretty.” _

_ “Pretty handy in a fight! Come on, Des, we need her.” _

_ “I don't know about that. She will need to prove it if she wants our help. Follow me.” Desdemona flicked her cigarette at the ground in front of Genevieve and turned around. Deacon smiled at her as he waved for her to follow them. _

\--------------------

Genevieve waited at the meeting spot she had set up for an agent of The Railroad. She wasn't sure what she would say, but she needed to reach out. She made a mistake in siding with The Brotherhood and she needed out. She had been having her suspicions, but after they turned on Danse she knew that she couldn't work with them with a clear conscience.

She saw his smirk before he came into view and she chuckled to herself. Deacon came over the hill, wearing his sunglasses even though it was night out. She heard him chuckling to himself as he neared her.

“I have to say, I didn't expect you to reach out to us,” he smirked once her came up to her.

“I know. I'm sorry, but I need help, Deacon,” she sighed.

“You need help? You know I'll always help you, but it's convincing Desdemona to help you that will take some work.”

“That's why I wanted to meet with you. I have information. I am able to teleport in and out of the Institute whenever I want.”

“No shit?! How'd you pull that off?”

“That's a story for another time. Do you think she will help me?”

“I think I can convince her, as long as you're on our side and not The Brotherhood.”

“I need out of there.”

“Jesus, what happened?” Dean sounded concerned, but he still couldn't wipe the smirk off his face. She had never seen Deacon not smiling and she found it contagious.

“They went after one of our own. He was my mentor and they sent me to execute him even though he had done no wrong.”

“That doesn't sound like them. Unless…” He gave her a look and she nodded. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “That will be harder to tell her about, so I'll leave that to you. I can get her to speak with you, though. With information on the Institute, I think she will be willing to push the past aside.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Deacon. I owe you. I need to do something first, then I'll meet you back at headquarters.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I knew you'd come to your senses.” She couldn't see, but she was sure he winked at her before turning and whistling as he walked back up the hill.

Genevieve wasn't sure how Danse would react, but she needed to get back to him. She prayed he was still there when she got back with his personal belongings. She had taken longer than she had wanted to and she worried about him every second that passed. She quickly turned and headed in the direction of The Bunker, back to Danse.


	24. Twenty Four

Genevieve's heart raced as the elevator descended to the basement level of the bunker. When it opened, the aroma of cooked meat met her nostrils and she instantly felt her mouth water. Did he cook? She entered slowly, hoping the metal steps of the power armor wouldn't send him into a panic. She stepped to the side and pressed the release button.

When she turned around she saw Danse and he was pale. He looked past her towards the power armor that used to be his. She took the box from the leg compartment and started to walk towards him. She set the box on the table and followed his gaze to the power armor.

“I brought it back for you…” She mumbled as she shuffled her boots in the dirt.

“They hadn't gotten it fixed for me…” He nearly whispered. “But you got it and it was fixed right away?”

She knew this was upsetting to him. He always felt vulnerable without his power armor and Proctor Ingram had put off repairing it for other projects that came to light when Genevieve found a way into the Institute. She had always felt guilty, as if she had been the one who took it from him.

“I brought some of your things from your room. I thought you'd…”

“You have my old room?” Danse exclaimed. She saw the realization come across his features and he nearly fell over before he sat in a chair. “You got promoted...you're a Paladin now…”

“Danse...I didn't ask for it. I didn't even want it…”

“It's for my execution...You were promoted for executing a Synth within the ranks…” He looked even more lost than he had before she left. “Not Maxson's doing, I suppose...The higher ups really are…”

“Danse, listen to me.” She knelt onto the floor in front of him and gently took his hands in hers. He pulled them away, but she still talked to him. “We need to forget about them. We need to move on and find you a safer place.” He stared at her and she saw the anger and pain in his eyes. “I have a place you can go. I have many safe places that you can be, you just need to tell me you're willing.”

She knew it was a lot to ask of him as he took a deep breath and stared at the ground. He was tired. The bags under his eyes were dark and his face was weary.

“Have you been sleeping?” His expression told her what she needed to know. She sighed and stood as she took his hands again and pulled him to his feet. “Rest. Please. This will be easier to talk about after you are rested.”

“Are you staying?” He asked suddenly. She knew what he meant as she had asked him the same question before. 

“I will not leave you, Danse. I'll be wherever you want me.” He began walking towards the bee, still holding her hand. She helped him get settled before laying in the bed next to him. She gently placed her hand in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. “Out of everything that has happened, I can't tell you how happy it makes me that you're still here.” She smiled as she heard his breathing even out as he fell asleep.

\--------------------

“You're sure it's safe?” Danse asked as they walked across the wasteland together. He kept his eyes open for Vertibird's in the sky and other Brotherhood members.

“Maxson said that Captain Kells had everyone working on something else,” she explained. “Once we get to the Red Rocket, everything will be alright. There are few scouts out, right now.”

She had wanted him to go to the Railroad Headquarters with her, but he refused. He wasn't ready for something like that and he wasn't sure if he was on board. The Railroad helped escaped Synths integrate into the world where he always destroyed them. He wasn't sure if he truly wanted to turn his back on all he had ever known, even if he was a synth.

Genevieve convinced him to stay at the truck stop she called home. She told him that, since Sanctuary was just up the road, he would be safer there. He couldn't disagree with that and she was persistent on the issue. 

He saw the rocket form in the distance and he felt hesitant. Danse hadn't thought of how he would call for help if he needed it. As they drew closer, he saw something that made him panic. A man was perched on the roof of the gas station and had a rifle pointed right at them. He lunged and tackled Genevieve to the ground.

“Danse...what…?”

“Shhhh…” He cut her off. “Someone is on the roof of the truck stop with a rifle pointed our way.”

“Where?”

Danse looked up and the man was gone. Danse quickly pulled out his own weapon, and searched the area with its scope. He couldn't find a trace of who he had just seen. He thought he was going crazy until he heard a rifle cock behind his head.

“Easy, big guy,” the voice said. Danse felt his heart race as he felt the gun against the back of his head. “Be a gentleman and get off the lady, will ya?”

“Danse…” Genevieve tried to talk, but he shushed her again as he laid his rifle down.

“Get your ass…uh...Just get up,” the man grunted.

Danse raised his hands and slowly stood up. Genevieve coughed as the pressure was released from her back and began to stand. She turned towards the man with a smile and Danse had never been more confused.

“Get out of here,” the man told him.

“Hey, it's ok,” Genevieve chuckled. “He's with me.”

“You know this man?” Danse exclaimed.

“This is Robert MacCready and he has the best eyes in the Commonwealth,” she explained. “McCready, this is Danse.”

“Oh, I see,” MacCready instantly lowered his rifle. “Sorry, when I saw you tackle her I thought that she was being attacked.”

Danse saw the wry smile form across his face as he looked at Genevieve and it made him angry. “If you don't mind, can we continue?” Danse asked Genevieve.

“Of course. I told MacCready to meet us here,” Genevieve explained as they began walking towards the truck stop. Danse was apprehensive about the sniper that had just shown up. He and Genevieve chatted like old friends as they made their way towards her shop.

“You looked low on ammo,” MacCready explained. “So I always dropped some off here if I passed by, but I noticed you hadn't been here in a while. I was afraid something had happened to you until I got your message.”

“I've been busy,” Genevieve mumbled as she had her head buried in a trunk, digging through it.

“I can imagine. Why do you want me to come with you to the Railroad HQ?”

“Wait, he's going with you?” Danse suddenly asked.

“Yes,” Genevieve sigh as she sat up. “I want back up when I go. MacCready knows their operations well.” 

Danse saw the look she gave him and it was sympathetic. She didn't want to push him into going but he wasn't sure how comfortable he was with her going with a stranger to him. He saw that MacCready eyed him with just as much suspicion as he did him and it made him nervous.

“Can you give us a moment?” She suddenly asked MacCready as she stood.

Danse saw his eyes shift between the two. “Sure. Just don't take long. We have a ways to go before it gets dark.”

“I know. I just need to speak with Danse before I leave.”

“Fine by me.” MacCready's sharp eyes met Danse's before he stepped outside.

Danse followed Genevieve into the store part of the truck stop where she began to point everything out to him. “The bed is decent and there's plenty of non-perishable food here. The Minutemen of Sanctuary know you are here.” She took out a flare gun and flares. “If you have trouble, shoot these off and they will be here. Otherwise, feel free to use anything from there and here that you need. I hope I won't be gone long, but…”

“I'll be fine,” he told her as he touched her arms with his hands.

“I just...I just don't like the thought of leaving you alone. I really wish you would come with me.”

“I would be putting you in danger to travel with you, right now. The Brotherhood needs time to believe I'm actually dead.”

“I know...it's just…” He saw the anxiety within her eyes as her body began to shake.

“If something's wrong, I want to know...I can't let you go knowing that something is bothering you.”

He saw her mind working within itself as she tried to piece it all together. She opened her mouth to talk a few times, but she closed it right away. Finally, she pulled her back pack from her shoulder and started to dig through it. When she held the holotape in her hands, he felt his blood run cold in his veins.

He had forgotten about it when Maxson had shown up. He never meant for her to find it. “Did you…?” He finally choked out.

“Yes…” She whispered. “I didn't know what it was until I started listening to it…” They both stared at the tape in her fingers, unable to find the words to say.

“That was before you came…” He finally explained. “Is that why you've been so worried about me?”

“Partially. I mean, I am always worried about you but I was afraid that I'd go somewhere and you wouldn't be here when I came back.” Her green eyes glistened with tears as she gazed up at him.

Danse pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. She grasped him tightly as he held her. “I promise you that I'm not going to go anywhere…”

“Thank God…” She breathed as she held him tight.

“I was afraid that you wouldn't think the same of me even though I was a synth…”

“Nothing has changed, Danse,” she said as she cradled his face in her soft hands. She leaned in and gently kissed him.

Danse felt his body go rigid and she pulled away. He wanted to continue so badly, but his fear and anxiety got the best of him and she apologized.

“Don't,” he said as he caressed her cheek with his calloused fingers. “I just need some time...I ask that you are patient with me…”

“Of course,” she said as she rested her forehead against his. “Of course I will, Danse…”

He softly smiled as he watched Genevieve pull her bag over her shoulder as she walked off with MacCready. He felt better than he did before she left, but he was still worried about her. He sighed and walked back into the shop to try and figure out what he was going to do while she was gone.


	25. Twenty Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay in updating! I had surgery and then there was a lot going on with work, but I'm hoping to dive back in!!

_ Genevieve stared at MacCready in shock. His face was still only inches away, and she could still taste his kiss on her lips. He looked down and shuffled backwards away from her, still avoiding eye contact. _

_ “But...I thought…” Genevieve sputtered as she tried to shake everything out of her mind. _

_ “I know...I know…” He said. “I just can't...I still love Lucy.” _

_ “I know, but I thought…” _

_ “I shouldn't have let it go this far…” He sighed as he rubbed his forehead.  _

_ “This far?” Genevieve heard the anger rise in her voice. “This went pretty fucking far, Robert!” _

_ “I know!” He countered, raising his own voice. “I never should have let it get to that point.” _

_ “So, what, now you regret everything?” _

_ “Yes! I mean...no...GODDAMNIT!” He kicked the wall as he let the cuss word flow from his lips. _

_ “You... BASTARD!” She screamed at him. “You sleep with me one night and you're fine. Two days later you have regrets? That's bullshit!” _

_ “You knew I still loved Lucy! Just because you and Nate had a messed up marriage doesn't mean that we did!” _

_ “I asked you if you were sure...you seemed pretty fucking sure from my angle!” _

_ “I don't know!” He exclaimed. “I need time…” _

_ “You need time, now…” Genevieve bit her lip as she fought back the tears. “Then take all the time you need because I'm leaving.” _

_ “Gen, don't be that way…” _

_ “Don't follow me!” She growled as she slammed the door behind her. _

\--------------------

Genevieve lead the way to the old church with MacCready keeping and eye out for potential enemies. She wasn't looking forward to this at all, she just hoped that Desdemona was reasonable about everything. She knew she could trust Deacon to pave the way for her, but that didn't mean it'd be easy.

She stepped over the debris within the church and made her way to the basement before the symbol was right before her. A few well placed clicks, and the wall opened up for her. Sure enough, Desdemona was waiting for her with Deacon.

“You have a lot of nerve coming back here,” Desdemona growled. “After you took that chip and went back to the Brotherhood, why should I trust you?”

“Because I want to use it to help you,” Genevieve sighed.

“ _ Now _ you want to help us?”

“Give her a break, Des,” Deacon chimed in. “I don't think she knew what she was getting into with the Brotherhood.”

“Either way, I'm not going to trust you blindly…” Desdemona stared at Genevieve for a moment as she contemplated how to proceed with her. “If you're truly with us, then you will have no issues doing something for me.”

“What is it?” Genevieve asked.

“Follow me and I'll explain.”

Genevieve and MacCready followed Desdemona deeper into headquarters and she heard familiar voices.  _ Charmer's back!...Glad you're here!...Welcome back! _ Genevieve smiled politely as she made her way towards Tom with Desdemona.

“We have a contact within the Institute that you will need to get into contact with,” Desdemona said bluntly.

“Inside the Institute?” Genevieve exclaimed.

“Yeah, if you have a way in then this should be easy for you. Tom here will send an encrypted message to him. He goes by 'Patriot’.”

“Who is he?”

“Only the coolest guy ever!” Tom smiled. “He has helped us get Synths safely out of the Institute.”

“Why do you need my help?”

“We need to know what his next plan is and he doesn't think it safe to communicate through the messages, anymore,” Desdemona explained. “He needs a real person to show up to know that he's safe.”

“Alright…”

That's all the Genevieve could say. She wasn't sure if she was emotionally prepared to do this, but if it put her back in Desdemona's good graces, she had to. She needed out of the Brotherhood and Desdemona was who could help her with that. 

She sighed as she entered the room where she and MacCready would stay until she left the next morning. He had been quiet, but she knew he must have had opinions about the ordeal. She set her gear down and sat down on the chair while holding her head.

“You alright?” He asked her as he gently set his rifle against the wall.

“I'm not sure…” She confessed.

MacCready sighed and pulled a chair up so he sat across from her and rested his elbows on his knees. “Look, I know that you and I parted on uneasy terms...but I want to help you, Gen…”

Genevieve's memories flashed to the last time she had seen him. She winced at the hurtful words she had screamed at him. She felt guilty for it everyday and she was surprised when he responded to her message that he would join up with her.

She had met him in Goodneighbor after she had visited Diamond City. Hancock had told her of a bar where she could wind down so she went. She heard a scuffle in the back room and walked in on two men threatening MacCready. When he offered himself as a hired gun, she accepted. She felt she needed all the help she could get and the others had their own problems to deal with; she didn't want to burden them.

He deserved answers as she looked to him. “I've been in the Institute,” she told him.

“I figured that out when you told Desdemona,” he sighed. “Did you find Shaun?”

“Yes…”

“And…?”

“It's not simple…”

“How so?”

She shifted uncomfortably as she explained the situation to him. She was torn, part of her didn't want to give up on Shaun but the Institute couldn't continue as it was. He listened with unwavering, dark eyes as she told him everything.

“I told him I'd come back after some time to think, but I still don't know what to do…”

“Dangit…” He whispered as he rubbed his eyes. “That's not an easy decision...If it were Duncan I-I don't know…”

“How is he?” She found herself suddenly asking. Her question was answered before he said anything by the smile that formed across his face.

“He's good...Getting stronger everyday.”

“I'm glad...At least one of us got a happy ending out of all this.”

“You'll get one too, Gen…”

She stared into his eyes for a moment before she had to pull herself away. Her guilt was eating her up as she thought about what he had said about her own happy ending. She didn't see any possibility of that happening anytime soon. “I'm sorry…” she finally said.

“For what?”

“For what I said the last time we saw each other.”

She saw him inhale deeply and look towards the floor quickly. “It's not your fault, Gen...I was in a messed up place, at the time. I was so worried about Duncan and when you helped me find the medicine, I was just so happy...I-I never meant to hurt you…”

“I said such awful things to you...I wanted you to know how sorry I was.”

“Apology accepted, though not necessary. I was wrong to do that to you, and I'm sorry for that.”

“I accept,” she smiled. “I'll need to go to the Institute alone, tomorrow. Can you do me a favor?”

“What's that?”

“Can you go back to the truck stop and keep Danse company?”

“Are you and him…?”

“I honestly don't know,” she sighed. “It's just hard to think about him tinkering alone out there.”

“He didn't seem fond of me.”

“I'm not sure what's going on there, but it'd help me put my mind at ease if I knew you'd at least check up on him...He's had it rough…”

“Anything for you, Gen,” he smiled. “Mind if I ask what happened?”

Genevieve contemplated for a moment before finally speaking. “Danse was a Paladin within the Brotherhood of Steel...they found out that he was a synth and ordered his execution. He didn't even know he was a synth.”

“No shit? I mean...what?”

“I was sent to execute him, but I couldn't. I know there's more to him than a machine. I just...I don't know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“It brought the true intentions of the Brotherhood to light for me...Can I really just sit by and let them continue?”

“That's a tough one, Gen, but I see where you're coming from. You'll know when it's time.”

“We should get some rest before tomorrow.”

MacCready agreed as they made their way over to their own beds. MacCready was sure to rest his rifle next to his bed, just in case. Genevieve layed down but she found it hard to sleep with her mind racing. When she sent her message to him it was out of desperation and she didn't think he'd even respond. Yet here he was. She got more comfortable and closed her eyes in an attempt to prepare herself to see Shaun again tomorrow.

\--------------------

Danse carried the heavy boards to where he needed them and began putting them into place before he hammered them in with nails he had made. For a run down truck stop, The Red Rocket had decent workbenches for him to make the materials he needed.

He was starting to see what Genevieve had seen in this place when she first came across it. The land was nice for crops to grow, the land was even for building, and it had power. He kicked himself for questioning her about it when she first told him about it.

Dogmeat had returned and was good at keeping him company at night near the fire he built. He had grown very fond of him and was glad when Genevieve had told him she had released him to return before she left the Prydwen.

The Minutemen had come to check on him a few times while he had been there, including Preston. Preston even shared a beer with Danse while Danse told him about his building plans. Genevieve had wanted a house there and it was the best way for Danse to occupy himself while she was gone.

“You seem to know what you're doing,” Preston told him.

“I've built a few buildings in the past. This will be a bit more extensive, but it's like putting multiple buildings together,” Danse explained.

“You know you don't have to do this for her.”

“No, but I want to. Plus, it keeps me from going crazy by myself here.”

“You can use any supplies we have or let me know what you need and I can get it.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course...Genevieve told me what happened and I want you to know that you have nothing to be ashamed of with the Minutemen. We help anyone in need.” Danse stared at him for a moment before nodding his thanks. Preston held his hand out to shake farewell before he left and Danse shook it without hesitation.

He never thought that he'd become friends with Preston, but he wasn't as bad as he was led to believe. It was just one more thing he had been wrong about. He had been under the impression that the Minutemen were just a different kind of Raider faction, but that was far from the truth. He had seen what Genevieve had done for the people of the Commonwealth and he couldn't have been more happy to help her.

Night was falling once again, so Danse cleaned up his tools and started his fire again. He put the ragstad he had taken down over the fire and played with Dogmeat as he waited for it to cook. He tossed the ball for the dog as he sipped his beer.

Dogmeat ran past Danse and started running down the road. Danse shrugged and checked on the meat to see it was almost done. He heard a voice as Dogmeat barked happily and Danse looked up to see MacCready coming down the road with the dog jumping up and down in front of him.

Danse tensed when he realized that he was alone and stood up, instantly. He waited for MacCready to get closer before asking him where Genevieve was.

“She had to do something,” MacCready told him, tensely.

Danse didn't do well when people avoided his questions. “Where is she?”

“She's fine. Just let me set my stuff down and I'll fill you in.”

Danse eyed him warily as he set his rifle down next to the building and began scratching Dogmeat behind the ears.

“You hungry?” Danse heard himself ask. “There's plenty if you need something to eat.”

“I appreciate it,” MacCready said as he pulled a chair up and Danse handed him a beer.

Danse couldn't believe he was sharing his food and beer with a man he hardly knew. What kind of person had Genevieve turned him into? This was something she would do.

“Can you tell me what's going on?” He finally asked.

“She had to go back to the Institute,” MacCready explained and Danse felt his body go rigid. “Desdemona said she needed to prove that she was there to help, so she sent her to meet with a contact in the Institute.”

“And you let her go alone?” Danse exclaimed.

“I had to. It'd be more dangerous for her if I went and blew her cover.”

“Her cover?”

“From what I understand, she is going in there like she is there to help the Institute, when she's really helping the Railroad.”

Danse couldn't breathe. He knew how much it bothered her to see Shaun again and she had wanted to avoid it, if she could. He should have been with her to talk her through it. Instead, he was sitting here with a man he hardly knew sharing his provisions.

“She wanted me to come and make sure you weren't lonely, but I don't know why,” MacCready sighed.

“She worries a lot.”

“Ain't that the truth.”

Danse felt the tension that MacCready was giving off towards him. He ate in silence before he walked back over to the floor boards he was working on. He saw MacCready wander into the distance and he felt relieved; he hoped he was leaving now that he had checked on him.

He continued hammering the nails in until it was dark outside before he decided to finish for the night. He hadn't got lights set up outside for him to work at night, yet. He patted Dogmeat on the head as he looked at what he has accomplished. He heard the faint shuffle of feet as he saw MacCready come over the hill with more wood.

“I thought that I could at least be of some help while I'm here,” he explained as he set it down. “Looked like you were running low.”

“Thanks,” Danse spoke tensely as he walked towards the store part of the station. He saw MacCready pull out a sleeping bag before he closed the door behind him. Danse sat on the bed and held his head as he thought of Genevieve going back into the Institute. He was worried but he knew she would be alright. He just couldn't shake the memory of yet when she had come back the first time. He prayed she would be alright as he lay down to sleep for the night.


	26. Twenty Six

Genevieve appeared in the quarters that Shaun had set up for her and she reeled from the teleportation, sitting down on her bed. She waited for the room to stop spinning before she stood again and looked in the mirror. The bags under her eyes were a clear indication of her stress and lack of sleep. She splashed the cold water on her face in an attempt to hide her weariness, but it didn't help much.

She slowly made her way up the stairs to where Shaun had his own quarters to see him standing at the big window overlooking the Institute. She had never really looked at him, until now. His hair was dark, like hers, with gray peppered within it. His posture was straight as he held his hands behind his back and slowly turned to her with a smile that was also hers.

“I'm glad you've returned, mother,” he spoke softly.

“How did you know it was me?” She asked as she walked towards home; her boots thumping in the clean, white floor.

“I was notified of your return,” he explained. “No one comes and goes without anyone knowing. It's what keeps us safe.”

“Safe…” She said out loud as she contemplated what that meant to them. Their sheltered world down here had no idea what it was like on the surface, Shaun included.

“Have you had time to think about what we are, here?”

Genevieve felt her heart drop. She didn't know what to say to him. Her confliction must have been present on her face as he chuckled. “I understand that it's a lot to take on. All I ask is that you are willing to help us, help me, have a chance.”

“I'd like to look around more, if you don't mind. I want to meet more of your people.”

“You can go wherever you like,” he smiled. “You have clearance everywhere in the building, except for areas that are deemed unsafe. I don't want you getting hurt.”

“Look at you, protecting me now.” Genevieve couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. It didn't feel like long ago when she would have protected him with her own life.

“I suppose it's a strange feeling. I will be here should you need anything, but I invite you to look around more. We have nothing to hide here.”

_ Except your existence…  _ She thought to herself as she nodded and walked out his door and down the stairs. She needed to find a terminal to upload the message to, and from, Patriot. She went to her room and used the terminal there and she got a response immediately asking her to meet him. She made her way to the meeting spot with caution to be sure she wasn't followed.

She found him standing in a closet, looking terrified. “Hey,” she said to try and soften the greeting even though he still jumped.

“Oh God...You're really here…” Patriot exclaimed. “I didn't think you were a real person.”

“And yet you still waited in the open for me?” Genevieve smirked, but she was irritated. How could this jumpy, young man be the man Tom had described to her? He seemed scared of his own shadow.

“Point taken,” he sighed.

“I'm with The Railroad. They sent me here as an ambassador of sorts.”

“The Railroad? So it really does exist…”

“I was told to meet with you about helping you with some Synths that want freedom.” 

“Yes, but we need to meet with my contact first. He's just around the corner.” Patriot quickly ran past her so she could follow him. She was lead to a man doing some gardening in the area. She could tell, by what he was wearing, that he was a synth.

He explained to them, discreetly, that there were thirteen Synths that needed help escaping. When Genevieve asked why they wanted to escape, his explanation left her speechless.

“We may be machines, but we feel like we are more. Here, we are used for labor purposes and doing the dirty work that the scientists don't want to do. We see them with their friends and families and we want a chance to have that happiness. We can't even talk to the each other as friends, let alone make new ones,” he said quietly.

Genevieve wondered if this is how Danse felt when he escaped the Institute. Her thoughts wandered to wanting to know who had helped him escape the Institute. Patriot seemed too young to have been doing this long, so someone else must have helped him. It made her shudder to think of Danse working here as a robot just doing work for everyone. She needed to know more.

Z1-14 told them to meet him after they had more information from their connections, and he would pass along the information. Genevieve followed Patriot back to the linen closet where he told her he needed information on the passwords to open the security doors. Without them, nobody would escape.

“I'll have Tom work on it,” she explained.

“Who's Tom?” He asked.

“The man that hacked your encrypted messages. If anyone can do it, it's him. By the way, what's your real name?”

“Liam. Liam Binet,” he said. “Once you have what we need, meet back up with me and we will move forward.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Until then, stay in Father's good graces. Work with him as if nothing is going to happen. We can't risk this, now.”

Genevieve felt the fear rise up within her as she thought about it. What would Shaun have her do? She wasn't a scientist and she certainly wasn't a Courser to bring in rogue Synths. The only thing she could do was go to him and see what ideas he had. She figured she would play it off as if she just wanted to know how the Institute operated. She just needed to hold off long enough to get the synths freed from their slavery.

\--------------------

Danse cursed as he hit his thumb with the hammer while putting a roof on the building. He was almost done with it, but he couldn't believe how much he had gotten done on the week he had been working on it. Having nothing else to do really cleared his mind, and MacCready was even a little bit of help. He hadn't expected it, but MacCready helped build right alongside him.

The men didn't talk much and that was alright with Danse. He had no interest in knowing who MacCready was, except for how he knew Genevieve. He didn't want to ask, but MacCready must have sensed his questions one night as they began cleaning up for the day.

“I met Genevieve in Goodneighbor,” he suddenly said. “She helped me through a rough patch with some Gunner's.”

“You had run ins with Gunner's?” Danse asked as he put his tools in the tool box next to him.

“Well, I was one for a while,” MacCready chuckled. “It wasn't glamorous, but it kept me, and my family, alive. It was good pay, but I had other things I needed to do. The Gunner's didn't like that.”

“They usually don't. They are quite selfish and self centered.” Danse was stern as he spoke. He had run into Gunner's plenty of times before and it always ended badly. Innocent lives were always lost in the conflict and Danse wondered if he had ever encountered MacCready before now.

“Yeah, I learned that the hard way. Genevieve went in blazing as she took them out with me. It was a sight to see…” Danse saw the far off look MacCready had and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. MacCready saw him glaring at him and quickly rebounded. “I told her I'd help her if she ever needed it.”

“She's always helping people. I'm afraid that she will get burned one of these days.”

“She already has.”

“What do you mean?” Danse stared at him with intense eyes.

“Well, your group. The Brotherhood...She's got a sour spot for them, right now.”

“That doesn't mean they burned her…” Danse looked away, picked up his tools box, and walked towards the garage with it. 

“Well, they burned you didn't they?” Danse hadn't expected MacCready to follow him and he felt nervous. He hadn't realized that Genevieve had told MacCready about their situation and it made him on edge. “You were like me. Loyal through and through until one thing happened they didn't like. They just casted you out like a sick dog.”

Dogmeat whined as he perked his ears up, but anger flashed through Danse as he turned on MacCready quickly. “Don't you  _ ever _ speak of the Brotherhood that way!”

“Hey, man!” MacCready held his hands up. “I'm just calling it as I see it. You seem like a good person; the Brotherhood just has their priorities a little messed up, that's all.”

Danse glared at him for a few moments before stalking away towards Sanctuary. Part of him knew that MacCready was right, but how could he throw it all away? His entire belief system had been shattered in a matter of seconds, his brothers had cast him out, but he still defended them.

_ Why? _

He knew Genevieve would ask him that question if she were here and he didn't know how to answer it. He still felt tied to them, even now. He couldn't shake the thought that maybe she had told MacCready more than he knew and that bugged him. He wished that she were with him.

He suddenly stopped and noticed that he had walked right through Sanctuary and was standing at Vault 111; the vault where Genevieve had come from. He hesitated slightly before descending down to the lower levels of the vault.

He had been inside a few times before, but this was different. He had seen her memories of it and he felt like he knew where he was walking. Before he knew it, Nate's skeleton was laying on the ground before him. The bastard was still there.

Danse looked across from the remains and saw the vault that she had been held in. He walked up to it and felt the cold steel of the handle as he touched it and peered inside the window. All that was there was a seat where she had sat. He couldn't imagine how fearful she was when she had to flee her home to a vault that froze her mid animation. She must have been terrified to come to the surface to see what had happened to the world she once knew.

He felt his emotions overwhelm him as he turned and looked back at the skeleton on the floor, still wearing the blue vault jumpsuit. Without a thought, Danse's heavy boot crushed the skull under his heel before he walked back up the stairs towards the surface once again.


	27. Twenty Seven

Genevieve felt her world piece back together as the sight of the Red Rocket came into view. She needed to make sure she was at the right one because, when she left, there wasn't a house built there. She slowly crept up to the front door of the wooden house and opened it.

It wasn't furnished, but large areas were made for a living room, kitchen, dining room, and a few bedrooms upstairs. Her hands trembled as she touched the walls of the house and she felt tears creep into her eyes. Her tears burned from her dehydration as she slammed them closed to keep them from coming.

She went up the stairs and saw a big bedroom that had glass walls leading to a balcony. How had this come about? She had been gone for a while, but she didn't think it was long enough for this to be built. She looked over the balcony and saw MacCready cleaning his rifle in the distance. He waved to her without looking up. Of course he knew she was here. His instincts were sharp and she envied them.

He tried to teach her to be more aware of her surroundings when they had travelled together, but she got distracted too easily. When she focused, she heard every sound; not just the ones she needed to focus on. He never gave up on her, until she left.

“Where'd this come from?” She asked him as she exited the house.

“Trees?” He smirked.

“No shit!” She laughed. “No, really. Where did it come from?”

“Danse built it. I help a little, but most of the work was him.”

She turned around and gazed at it. “Where is he?”

“He went for a walk.”

“A walk?!” Panic rose in her as she pulled her gun. “Damnit, Robert, he can't go alone!”

“Calm down, he just went to the town up the road.”

“You're sure?”

“Positive. There's nothing else up that way.” MacCready went back to cleaning his gun as if it wasn't a big deal. “If anything suspicious had passed through, I would have known.”

She put her gun away as she looked towards the setting sun. She knew he'd be safe in Sanctuary, but if he had ventured further she didn't know what he would come across.

“He's got a temper on him,” MacCready suddenly said as he snapped his rifle back together. “He doesn't take lightly to anyone speaking ill of his beloved Brotherhood.”

“I know,” she sighed as she raked her fingers through her hair. “He will come around.”

“Will he?” MacCready stood with a stern look on his face. “I don't want to pry, Gen, but I also don't want your past to repeat itself.”

“Robert, he's not Nate.” 

“All I ask is that you be careful.” MacCready took a few steps towards her. He was so close that she could still smell his cigarette on his breath. “I wouldn't want anything to happen to you.”

Genevieve gazed into his dark eyes for a moment before turning towards the sound of her name being called. She turned to see Danse standing by the shop with anger in his eyes that were directed at MacCready.

“Danse!” She smiled and ran to him, but he flinched before she could make contact. She paused and stared at him, but his gaze was fixated on MacCready. She turned to see MacCready packing up his rifle and walking in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” She called out to him and ran towards him.

“I'm not wanted here, Gen,” he sighed. “I have to go before I make things worse.”

“I might need your help later. Can I send a crow when I need it?”

She saw him hesitate and look over her shoulder at Danse before he nodded. He left her with a smirk as he turned and walked away into the brush. She turned to see Danse walking away, so she ran to him.

“Danse!” She called out. “Did-did you build all this?”

“Yeah,” he sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I needed to stay busy.” Danse stared at the house. “You said you had always wanted a home here, so I thought I'd help you out and get it started.”

“It's beautiful, Danse...You didn't have to do this.”

“I know...but I wanted to…” He gently took her hands in his and rested his forehead against hers. “I missed you…”

“I missed you, too, Danse,” she whispered as she felt his lips grow closer to hers. She felt his breath quiver as he left a soft kiss on her lips. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as he leaned against the wall of the house; his hands resting on her hips even though his body was shaking.

“When I was told that you were going to the Institute again, I was worried...I know you were torn about it…”

“I survived,” she sighed. “I'm in a hard place right now…”

“What do you mean?”

“In order to help The Railroad, I need to help Shaun so he doesn't suspect anything is wrong...I need to do work for him…”

“What kind of work?”

“He's sending me to retrieve a synth that escaped and us leading a gang of raiders, right now.”

“That doesn't seem too bad. He's a synth  _ and _ he's evil. It's best to get him out of the Commonwealth.”

“But Danse...What if he sends me after someone like you?” Genevieve felt the weight of her words settle on his as his thought about it. “I don't think I could do it…”

“They could lie to you; say they are good when they really aren't.”

“You know that's not how it always is…” She watched him walk away as he rubbed his eyes. He walked into the house he had built and stood alone in the darkness, only a single candle lighting the room, with his hands shoved in his pockets. She slowly came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I don't want to worry about that right now…”

“Genevieve,” he spoke her name gently as he turned around to face her. He lifted her face with his finger under her chin and gazed into her eyes. “I know you will do the right thing when it comes to it...I'll still be here with you, I promise…”

She stood on her toes and captured his lips with hers and dug her fingers in his thick, dark hair. He responded by holding her close to his body and she felt herself melting into him. She gasped as he bit her lower lip and met his tongue with hers. 

The move to the floor was fluid as she scrambled to get his shirt off of him as his hands felt her hot skin under her shirt. He sat up and held onto her hips as she straddled his waist, his face in her hands. His kisses became more hungry and insistent after she pulled her own shirt over her head.

His body trembled as her fingertips gently grazed his chest to wrap around his neck. She felt his length through his pants putting pressure on her and she felt the butterflies within her go crazy. She wanted this man more than anything in this world. He was all she had left to depend on and he was here; he was real.

He gently flipped her onto her back and proceeded to nip lovingly at her neck. She trailed her hands down to his waist and slowly began to undo his belt. She felt his breath hitch against her skin as he froze and looked into her eyes. She saw the fear and hesitation in them and she asked if he was alright.

“I'm fine...It's just…” He couldn't speak; he just kept gazing at her.

“What's wrong?” She gently caressed his cheek with the palm of her hand as she searched his eyes for answers.

“I'm not sure if I've ever done this before…” He admitted. “What if all I have are implanted memories and...and I'm…”

“Danse…” She cradled his face in her hands. “I don't care what are real memories, and what's not...I love you, Danse…”

His lips were on hers before she could say more. He took her breath away and he began to unbuttoned her tight jeans. She made quick work of his pants and they shimmied out of them quickly. His body was hot on hers as he demanded another kiss before she felt him slowly enter her.

She could feel how nervous Danse was by the way his body quivered with each sensation that was felt between the two. The only thing that Genevieve could do was wrap her legs around him and hold him close.

\--------------------

Dan's laid on the wooden floor with Genevieve in his arms. The candle had burned out long ago, leaving them in darkness. He listened to the sounds of the night and her quiet breathing as she slept on his chest. He looked down at her and smiled.

He had never imagined that this is where he would be in his life. When he had joined The Brotherhood, he figured that was what he'd do until he died. A relationship had always been as far from his mind as it could be. He still wasn't sure if the memories before the Brotherhood were real, but he wanted them to be. 

Genevieve stirred in his arms, but didn't wake up. He gently kissed her on the top of her head and whispered, “I love you, too, Genevieve.” He closed his eyes and felt relaxation take him as he drifted to sleep.

His sleep was disturbed suddenly by shouts coming from outside. He jerked awake and looked down to see the confusion on her face. He stood and pulled his jeans on as he asked her to stay where she was while he checked it out.

He stepped out into the night to hear a woman calling for help. When she saw him, she ran to him with fear in her eyes. Danse recognized her as one of the settlers from Sanctuary Hills.

“What's going on?” Danse asked.

“We are being attacked!” She cried out.

“By Raiders?” Danse heard Genevieve's voice as she exited the house; she was dressed and strapping her armor on.

“No, something different,” the woman explained. “He's asked for you by name...He's a synth talking about revenge.”

“A synth?” Danse became hyper aware as he stared at Genevieve.

“Please, General, we need you!”

“Of course,” Genevieve nodded as she put on her black cowboy hat. “Stay here, Danse.”

“No, I'm coming with,” Danse said as he grabbed his rifle. He knew she was trying to keep him safe, but he wasn't going to let her go alone.

“Danse, what if…”

“I'm coming with you,” he cut her off. “I'm in this with you.”

He saw her hesitate before she finally nodded. He followed close to her as they ran towards Sanctuary with Dogmeat at their side. Danse heard yelling from up ahead as Preston tried negotiating with whatever was attacking them. Danse couldn't understand why Preston would be doing this with something attacking Sanctuary. It wasn't until he heard the returning voice that he saw Genevieve stop in her tracks.

When he looked to her, she was pale. All color has left her face as her eyes widened in horror. “Kellogg?” She whispered in a question. 

“That's impossible,” he stated.

“Danse, it's Nick…”

“Nick? That synth that helped us in Goodneighbor?”

“He sounded just like Kellogg before we left...We figured it was a side effect, but…”

“Are you telling me that that homicidal maniac may have hijacked your friends brain?” Danse exclaimed. He stared down at her and saw her nod slightly. He cursed under his breath and ran the rest of the way the other end of Sanctuary to see what she had feared. Nick stood at the doorway to Genevieve's old house with a gun pointed at the base of Preston's head. 

Danse felt his pulse quicken when the, normally yellow, eyes glinted red as they found Genevieve. Danse stood in front of her as a sneer formed across her friends face.

“Hey there, icebox,” his voice filled the silence as everyone turned to Genevieve. Danse looked to see the look of absolute fear in her eyes as she stared at Nick. He'd never seen her more afraid since he had known her.

“I told you digging in my head might have consequences…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, and left kudos! This isn't the end of the story, I still have more! Look for it soon!
> 
> Thank you, again!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


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